In Love with a Wolf
by XxBloodyredrosexX
Summary: One day Bella finds a bronze wolf in the forest. The wolf, suddenly attached, now visits Bella on afternoons and they sleep under a tree sometimes. Til one day she wakes up to a man, not a wolf. Possessive Edward *Full sum inside!* MATURE!
1. A guy?

**A/N:** Hello, Everyone! I'm glad that you were interested enough to click on this story (hehe). I promise that you will enjoy this story very much! I sure have! For those of you who have been with me since my first story or so, I'm happy that you are reading another one of my stories and hope you enjoy this one! And for those who are getting to know me with this one, welcome! (^_^) Although, I'm afraid that I can't take credit for this plot; _Helper With Stories _sold (not litereally) me this story. I hope she likes how it will turn out! She has awesome plots that needs writers, if you are interested, please check out the other plots that are for "sale" on her profile. You won't regret it…!

Now, I have to give some **warnings** (they're below as well…): This Edward will be slightly possessive, and Jasper will be dark,. This story will be _mature_, so if you don't like **sexual content or adult situations**, please do not proceed on reading the story. Now, those who do proceed, I hope you like this story. :3

Thank you so much _HopeStreet _(my beta) for helping me decide things for this story. I think I would have been still stuck on the third chapter if it wasn't for you_! Thank you! _

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My summary:

One day, Bella decided to go on a walk through the woods like she did countless times on boring afternoons. But this time, she ended up with a scratched hand because she had slipped on the forest ground. When she was going to go home to treat the wound, she finds a large bronze wolf asleepnear a tree. When it wakes up, Bella is impacted by its gorgeous, intense and rare green colored eyes. But that's not all. The wolf had cured Bella's wound by _licking _it. A giant wolf that cures wounds…with its _tongue_? Now every afternoon, the bronze wolf comes to visit Bella and they often sleep under a big oak tree together. Till one night she wakes up to a _man, _instead of a wolf. But what happens now that she knows this secret? What happens when a strange man comes to take him away? Back to _that _place? From that day onwards, Bella's life takes an unexpected turn as she meets danger, passion, love and lust.

**Helper With Stories' summary: **

One day Bella was walking home through the woods. She finds a large Bronze wolf asleep near her house. It wakes up and they share a secret bond. Now everyday the wolf comes to visit Bella. They sometimes sleep under a tree together. Till one morning she wakes up to a man, instead of a wolf.

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Genre:

Romance/Suspense/Fantasy/Horror/Dark/_Mature_

**Warnings:**

Sexual Content (adult situations)

Possessive Edward

Dark Jasper

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**In Love with a Wolf**

**Chapter 1- A guy?**

**Bella's POV **

"The best things in life are unexpected - because there were no expectations."

~ Eli Khamarov

I watched as he walked toward me slowly, cautiously. I smiled, letting him know that he could trust me, that it was safe to approach me. However, my reassurance didn't change anything. He was glancing to the sides as he walked away from the shadows of the forest, eyeing his new surroundings. He was very attentive to what was happening around us; it was clear. I could have taken a step toward him, but I decided to stay put, just letting him be comfortable, take his time.

"It's alright, it's alright," I assured him as he stopped when he saw a car pass by the road behind me. His ears flattened backwards as he crouched at the sound of the automobile. He was ready to run back into the forest, but my voice stopped him. His shining green eyes flickered to mine as he heard me. He was still crouched, however, and eyed the road as more cars passed by. It was clear that he was still very uneasy doing this, being exposed to the human eye, but it was safe now. Where I live, people are barely outdoors anymore. When they get home from work or school, they lock themselves up in their comfortable homes. No one will see him; no one is in the area, especially at 4 o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon. Nearly everyone is busy at work.

"Come on, it's alright," I said, smiling.

He took another step forward at the sound of my voice, but he was still glancing around. After a few minutes, he was in front of me. The breeze blew softly, sending my hair to fall over my shoulders and some strands resting on my face bothering me as I looked at the creature. His fur was long and bronze, and it blew backwards. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply as the breeze kissed his face.

I never thought I would see him again… but I'm glad I did.

"Hello, again," I said and raised a hand out to pet his furry head cautiously. He let me.

He moved his head against my palm so I could pet him some more. I could only grin.

"I have never seen a wolf so big," I joked. I was petting him with both of my hands now; knowing he liked it and knowing he would let me. He wouldn't hurt me. "And green eyes. Usually, wolves are smaller, and they have dark eyes. You're different, big guy." I ruffled his bronze fur and laughed when he licked my hand.

"Gross!" I laughed. He just stared at me. "I'm glad you came back," I whispered to the bronze wolf. Big green eyes stared back at me deeply just like they were when I first saw him…

_"Why did I even decide to come here today?" I wondered aloud as I walked in the wet forest. The forest ground wasn't a good place to be for people with poor balance skills, such as myself, to walk on. Roots of trees stuck out of the ground, moss covered every surface, everything's wet and slippery- I'm bound to fall -_

_I fell on the ground with a "thump" and grimaced as my butt ached. Damn that root of the tree!_

_"Ah hell," I whispered when I saw a scratch on my hand. It must've happened when I fell. I got up and held onto a branch of the century old tree beside me and eyed the wound on my hand. I need to go home to care this, I thought, and it's already getting dark, so…_

_I looked around to find the pathway that my dad had made here two years ago, so when I wanted to 'explore,' I wouldn't get lost. But the dirt covered up almost the entire pathway! How in the hell am I suppose to -_

_A loud snore cut my thoughts off. It was the sound of a sleeping animal; I recognized it well. My dog (he died a year ago) used to make those kinds of sounds when he was asleep. It usually meant he was in a very deep sleep. I wondered if it was a dog. The sound came from behind me, so I quickly glanced behind._

_My heart stopped._

_It wasn't a dog, or a fluffy animal. It was a wolf! A humongous, bronze wolf! It was fast asleep, curled up in a big fluff ball under a tree. Its head was resting on its large tail, his back arching up and down slowly as he breathed. Oh, hell! Oh, hell! I knew that I should run, but I couldn't. My feet wouldn't work! I hate it when my fear gets control over me! What do I do? If I move, he's bound to wake up. But I've been mumbling aloud before I saw it, and it didn't wake up. And how in the hell did I miss seeing this wolf here? It so big! Is this normal? Is this a different species of wolves? I didn't even know Forks had wolves._

_I clasped a hand over my mouth -even though I wasn't talking aloud- and stayed absolutely still when the wolf moved suddenly. It stretched its front legs forward and made another sound. It was furrowing its brows, and I knew it was gaining consciousness!_

_Don't wake up! Please don't wake up. For the love of God don't wake up! Oh dear God, I'm going to die if it wakes up!_

_A pair if eyes opened slowly and flickered to mine._

_It woke up!_

_"Oh God!" I breathed as it got up from the ground. It was eyeing me, even though I wasn't moving. I was trying my best not to tremble, or at least not let it see I was trembling._

_The wolf walked over to me slowly. I closed my eyes tightly and held my breath, grasping the tree branch with all my might now. He's sure to bite me. He's going to kill me! But he didn't. All he did was sniff me. I opened my eyes as its fur tickled my skin, and its nose was all over my neck and hair. I stayed perfectly still, waiting for this wolf to stop sniffing me, and the moment he looked in another direction, I would make a run for it. Although I knew he would probably run after me…_

_When his eyes returned to mine, I saw the deep color in them, and I was shocked. His eyes were the most gorgeous shade of green that I have ever seen. Around the pupil, there were red rays that looked like the sun's, the tone of green had faint blue rays as well, and they had a glint that made it look breathtaking and terrifying all at the same time. The bronze fur complimented the eye color immensely. The wolf was looking at me deeply, his eyes very soft now. I wasn't as afraid as I was moments ago. Only because his eyes had a lonely glint, it made an impact on me. It called to me. It shocked me. I couldn't look away from this creature's eyes…_

_Only until he looked at my hand that I was able to look away from them. The wolf sniffed my hand that had been scratched and growled a little. It scared me now. Will blood make him aggressive, hungry?_

_Instead, he did something else. The wolf stuck out his tongue and licked the wound. I was shocked to see the wound disappearing, the pain vanishing. It healed it? Green eyes turned to mine again, and I looked at it in shock. Am I dreaming? Did a huge wolf lick my wound, and it vanished? I can't believe it._

_The wolf walked ahead of me, and I followed it with my eyes. It was following the faint path. It looked back at me and nodded its head forward._

_It wants me to follow?_

_I did so cautiously. After all, it did heal my wound, and it was walking on the path that Charlie had made._

_In minutes, my house came into view. I looked back at the wolf, and met those green eyes. I wanted to pet him, but… would it be a reckless thing to do?_

_"Thank you," I said, even though I knew this animal wouldn't understand me. I walked through my backyard and glanced at the forest as I reached the house, but the bronze, green-eyed wolf was already gone..._

_I'm glad he came back, and that he's not scared to step out of the forest anymore._

I motioned him to follow me to the big oak tree that was located in the middle of my backyard. The humongous forest was right in front of us, which the wolf glanced at a lot. He lay lazily beside me, his front paws stretched before him. I began to run my hand through his fur, and watched him. He's such a strange wolf. I mean he cured a cut with his saliva? And he has green eyes?

"My name is Bella, by the way," I said softly. I grinned as an idea came. "Hey, I'm going to name you." I really had the urge to name him, even though he was a wild creature and he could never be mine, but I really just wanted to. "Would you like that?"

The wolf nodded its head.

"I thought so," I laughed. I placed my hand on my chin. "Let's see… How about…Wolfie?"

He glared at me, which made me laugh, but made my heart skip a beat. "Yeah, that's sounds… How about Dodger? Ricky? Tito?" Every time he glared at me. "Well… I am bad at naming..."

He yawned and laid his head between his large paws. He was so soft that the motion of petting him made me sleepy. The warm breeze added to the sense of calm around me. Without thinking, I rested my head on his side and closed my eyes. In seconds, I was drifting…

Something was tickling me. Something soft… What? Then there was the sound of a growl…

I opened my eyes lazily to find the wolf's face inches from mine. My eyes widened, and I jumped backwards with a yelp, and he stood up. Gave me a fright there… He stretched his long body and glanced at me, then at the forest, and then back at me.

"You wanna go home?" I wondered, petting him again. In response, he looked back at the forest. It was getting dark. The streetlights were already on, and the day was no more. It was dark. There was no moon -the clouds blocked it- there were only grey clouds, a sign that there was a possibility it would rain tonight. The breeze was cold now and smelled like rain, proving my thoughts.

"Go home, now," I told him and smiled. I watched the big bronze wolf run back to the forest disappearing from sight.

What a wolf, I thought as I headed back to the house. I'm so reckless. But he doesn't seem dangerous, although he is still a wild creature, and he doesn't understand anything I'm saying –at least I'm pretty sure he doesn't- but he has that lonely glint in his eyes, and he seems like a frightened kitten more than a big wolf. I wonder how he even got here. I mean, are there more of them?

I had the house all to myself for a whole month. Charlie was off to California because his father was very ill, and he was taking care of him. I volunteered to go as well, but he wouldn't let me. He said that I would miss too much school, and since I'm a senior at Forks High School, I couldn't afford it. Furthermore, I'm lucky that I can handle things on my own. I know how to do many things, since I practically took care of my mother, Renee, when I lived with her. I took care of the house, made sure the bills were paid, made sure there was food in the house and meals were prepared. My mother was careless sometimes, and she acted like the teenager she and Charlie claim I am not -although I don't know why they say that as if it was a bad thing. Would they rather I'd be a wild teenager?

I wasn't hungry, so I only ate a piece of bread with PB&J and then headed for my room to study. I checked my phone and e-mail before I sat down to study, however, and found two missed calls from Jessica, and an e-mail from Renee. I decided that I would just ask Jessica why she called me tomorrow. After all, I already knew the reason for the calls -her date with Mike. It was supposed to have been tonight. I'll just ask her how it turned out tomorrow. Then, I began to read Renee's e-mail, which was sent this morning.

_Hi, baby! _

_I hope you're doing well! I wanted to tell you that Phil was planning a trip this summer to Italy. It's still undecided, but if we go, you know that there will be a ticket for you! Also, Charlie told me that you were staying alone while he was in California. I'm not going to say 'Be good,' because I know you are, but be careful! _

_PS. I hope you call me more often, Bella. You never call me anymore…_

_Love you, Mom._

I bit my lip nervously. She's doing the 'Please call me more often' thing… I hated that. The guilt was too much. I mean it's not that I don't like to talk to her, on the contrary, but I just… I began to type.

_Hi, Mom. _

_I know that I haven't been in touch with you, but you know how I am with phones and such. I hope we can go on the trip this summer, though. Going to Italy would be cool._

_Talk to you soon, Mom, bye-bye! _

I was so tired, so I decided to skip reading the novel that we were studying in English -besides; I had already read it and just decided to go to sleep instead. Tonight, I dreamt of a certain bronze wolf.

**-o0o0o0~~~0o0oo0-**

It's been three days since the wolf started to pay me afternoon visits. It was like having a puppy. He waited for me in the shadows of the trees until I arrived home from school, then I watched as he appeared from them and came to me. My afternoons were basically resting with him against the big oak three, and lying there, reading, studying, eating… Right now, I was resting against him, reading the novel for my English class. The afternoon was calm and dry, which usually doesn't happen often in Forks. But sometimes, having a little bit of sun and warmth is good. It reminded me of the desert in Arizona, and the heat. I missed that.

I closed my eyes, tossed the book aside, and cuddled against the wolf, listening and feeling, as he breathed. His low snoring was my lullaby, and in seconds, I was drifting into unconsciousness just as he was.

**-o0o0o0~~~0o0o0o0-**

It was so cold all of the sudden. I cuddled up against the wolf, wondering if somehow, the fur would help me get warm, but I found no fur.

_What?_

I furrowed my brows as I touched something very soft, and it had the texture of skin. I trailed my hands up until I found hair. But it wasn't as long and fluffy as the fur my fingers had become accustomed to. My hands wondered around this strange yet familiar form. This form reminded me of a human body.

_Wait, what?_

I opened my eyes quickly as I felt a hand tangle in my loose hair, and a sigh as something cuddled closer to me. _Hands…_

I felt myself blush as I stared at a male chest. "What?"

I was trapped by a male body -a male, naked body. I couldn't see his face, I was staring at his chest, but he had one hand in my hair and the other on my waist, bringing me closer to him.

I screamed, which made him wake up, and he let out a yelp when I punched him in the face. I stood up quickly, my heart beating extremely fast, both by the embarrassment and by the confusion. He sat on the ground, groaning as he rubbed his cheek where I had punched him.

"Who the hell are you? A-and what are you doing here?" I stammered. I couldn't see his face; he was looking down as he rubbed his cheek.

"What the hell, Bella? Stop screaming, you're making my ears hurt like _hell_!" came his voice. His voice was like velvet but held annoyance.

"Who the hell are you? How do you know my name? And what are you doing here! And where's my wolf?" I shouted the questions at him faster than he could have answered them. Then something clicked. "And why are you _naked_, you pervert! _L-lecher_!"

He looked at me, shock and confusion written on his perfect features. "What are you talking about, Bella?" he asked me. His eyes were full of confusion. Wait… those green eyes… It can't be. But they look exactly as the wolf's, and his hair… It's _bronze_! But how -? No, it can't possibly -

"Wait," he whispered as he studied his hands. He had his brows furrowed as he studied his body. He gasped and touched his face and hair. He looked confused. "What the…?"

I got into defense mode as he stood up.

"Bella," he said, as he took a step toward me. There were so many emotions running across his face that I couldn't identify them. I stepped backwards, my guard still up.

"D-don't get closer!" I stammered a warning.

He looked taken aback. "Bella… It's me. I'm the wolf."

I didn't want to believe him, but he had those same haunting green eyes, that same lonely glint in them. Is he really the wolf? How is that possible!

He took another step forward. "It's me. Look into my eyes." he pleaded. Something told me it was him. Just by the way he was looking at me. Those green eyes, that lonely glint… It _is_ him!

_How did this happen? _


	2. Maldecido

**A/N: **Hello again! I'm ecstatic that you all like this story so far! Thank you for supporting my new story, and thank you so much all for reading and those who have taken some of their time to review, and all those of you who have added this story on their favorite and/or alerts list. (^_^)

_Question that was asked:_

**xX Micky Cullen Xx** - Um… I still don't know if this story will have an Edward's POV.

**brittany86 - **Since I have another story that I have to update... I really don't know. _BUT_ I put up a Poll on my profile to let you guys decide on that.

I want to thank my beta, _HopeStreet_ (again) for helping me decide on the name where Edward came from. She's the one that threw the name in, and we both loved it! Thanks again! All credit goes to her!  
Oh, and read carefully, because there is important information on this chapter. Basically it explains how and why Edward was a wolf and all.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. 

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Chapter 2 – Maldecido **

**Bella's POV **

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M**y face is flushed, my body is trembling, my heart was speeding, and my mind is racing. I still don't know what's going on. I'm even wondering if I'm dreaming, but all I do know is that there is a weird, naked man standing in front of me! I covered my eyes and looked off to the side.

"C-cover yourself up!" I sputtered nervously. I hope he doesn't take notice of my blushing face.

"F-forget about that right now. I have to hide before I'm found," he said quickly. I looked at him.

"What? Who's looking for you?" He was closer to me than I thought. If I extended my hand out, I could touch his chest. I quickly looked away at the realization, my heart beating faster now.

"Can I come into your house?" His voice was desperate.

"No way!" I shouted, looking at him now. I ignore the fact that he is naked. "I'm not inviting a stranger into my house! How did you turn into a human? Why were you a wolf? How is that possible? And who's looking for you?" I know that I should've taken f few breathes before bombarding him with questions since it was clear by the look on his face that he was nervous about something, but I couldn't stop myself. How could I? A wolf that turned into a man? How could this happen?

_Be still, calm down_, I implored myself. _Just settle down and let him explain._

I looked at him, but he didn't respond. Instead, he was staring at me deeply. He is so handsome, I realize, as I studied his face. His complexion was a creamy color, and he looked like he had soft skin. His cheekbones were high, his lips were thin, and they were a pink shade that girls would kill for. Some of the locks of his bronze hair had fallen over his green eyes. He has haunting emerald eyes… He wasn't bulky, but he had nicely defined muscles. Above the nipple of his left breast was a tattoo. It was a seven-sided star, and inside the star was the letter _E_. There were seven swords around the star, all pointing toward the letter _E_. It looked cool, but I wondered if there is a meaning to it. One thing's for sure, it wasn't an ordinary tattoo.

"Bella," his voice implored me to look at him. "You need to help me," his voice was pleading. _Okay, _I thought, _this is clearly a serious request._

I'm glad that I my nerves are finally calming down. I took a deep breath. "Fine. Let's head inside, but you _will explain everything to me_," I said, my voice serious as I narrowed my eyes. He nodded quickly, grinned, and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Bella."

"W-what was that for?" I gasped in embarrassment, palming the cheek he had kissed. It was hot now. He looked confused.

"I was thanking you. That's how we thank others where I come from," he explained. Bella relax, it was just a kiss on the cheek. He's not going to do anything inappropriate; he doesn't look like that type of guy. He looks just as he did before: a frightened kitten.

Yes, but I am a girl who has never dated or has ever been kissed… Basically, I'm a girl who has not had many experiences with boys… Let's just say that I was caught off guard. …I'm a little uneasy now.

It was just a kiss on the cheek, my other half said, don't over react. He didn't do anything wrong. Deciding to forget what had just occurred, I motioned him to follow me into the house. We entered through the kitchen door. He glanced around in wonder as we passed through the kitchen, touching objects and furniture as we walked into the living room. He looked as if this was a completely new world to him. He eyed every object very intensely; he looked at his surroundings in wonder.

"Wait here," I mumbled, still embarrassed, and headed upstairs to find him a towel so he could cover himself up. I fished through the hallway closet for a towel, and when I found one, I headed back downstairs to find my unexpected guest closing the living room drapes. The room darkened even more than it already had been.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I walked to him. He turned to me, and I instantly handed him the towel so he could cover up.

"I can't risk anyone finding out I'm here," he responded while wrapping the towel around his waist. "Moreover, I can't stay here long. I don't want to get you involved."

"Wait, wait," I said, raising my hands up. "W-who's looking for you and why?"

He let out a heavy sigh, ruffling his hair, and sat on the couch that was behind us. "A month ago –"

"– surely you are not going to say something to her that you will regret later on, Prince Edward," another male voice said from somewhere within my house. The voice was very deep, very masculine. Prince Edward? What? To whom did that voice belong? I looked around the living room with alarm, but I didn't see anyone. Then I remembered my guest's tattoo. It had the letter E in it. Does the E stand for 'Edward'? Is he the 'Prince Edward' this voice is referring to?

My guest (Edward?) who had been sitting on the couch quickly stood up in front of me – shielding me with his body - as soon as he heard the voice.

"Stephen," he greeted calmly, staring intensely toward the kitchen. Stephen? I peeked over his shoulder, but I didn't see anyone. My heart was thumping furiously in my chest.

Then a man appeared in the entrance of my kitchen seconds later. He wore a serious expression on his face. He was very tall, perhaps 6'2" or so; his long, dark wavy hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. He had broad shoulders, was very muscular, and had very dark eyes. His skin was a little bit paler than that of the strange, bronzed-colored man in my living room, and it didn't look soft – it looked rough. The tall man – Stephen – bowed a few feet away from the man in front of me, his hand balled into a fist above his heart.

"Prince Edward," he greeted respectfully. I looked at the man standing in front of me with wide eyes. Prince Edward? What is going on?

"Who is that commoner who is hiding behind you like a frightened mouse?" Stephen nodded in my direction, his thick brows furrowed. I became defensive immediately.

_"Excuse me_," I responded sharply, walking past the bronze-haired man and over to Stephen. "My name is _Bella_, and I am _not_ hiding behind _anyone_," I defended as I poked him on his bulky chest with my index finger. I pointed back to the bronze colored man, the one Stephen referred to as 'Prince Edward.' "_Who_ is this man? And what is going on?" Stephen scowled at me.

"Don't address the Prince as _'this man'_, commoner," Stephen spat and jerked my hand away. Edward spoke before I could respond.

"Stephen, don't treat her like that. She means no harm," Edward spoke calmly. Stephen narrowed his eyes at me but didn't say another word on the matter.

I felt my guest's presence behind me. "Bella, I am indeed Edward, and I am indeed a prince. I'm sorry for not introducing myself formerly sooner, but there is a reason for not doing so." Edward said. "This is my servant, Stephen." I didn't greet him. "Stephen, this is Bella. She is going to help me and –"

"– and break the curse," interrupted Stephen, not impressed in the slightest.

"Curse? What curse?" I asked, looking at Prince Edward.

"I was going to explain it to you, but Stephen interrupted," Prince Edward said, shrugging. Stephen began to pace around the living room, his hands locked together behind his back.

"Edward is the Prince from a magical kingdom named Maldecido –" _Magical kingdom, what? _"– He was cursed by his older cousins, Prince Alistair and Prince Jasper, to take the form of a wolf. The only way to break the curse was to find his beloved maiden. Prince Alistair believes that no one would ever go near such a giant beast, and, therefore, Prince Edward would never be able to find his maiden, and instead, he would remain a wolf for all eternity. However, he was clearly wrong." Stephen turned to me. "You really _are_ a reckless girl, aren't you? What were you thinking going near a giant wolf?"

I was shocked by this information and rambled my response, "I was just walking through the forest, which is not unusual for me, when I came across a big wolf," I explained. "I wanted to run away, but my body froze in fear. The wolf had been sleeping, but it woke up and walked to me. Then it healed a scratch I had on my hand with its tongue." I raised my left hand in demonstration.

"That's Prince Edward's magic. He can heal any type of wound with his tongue," Stephen explained. _Heal any type of wound with his tongue? _I felt my cheeks grow hot, which I tried to ignore.

Then something clicked. "Wait, you said that the curse could only be broken if he found his beloved maiden… so that means I am…the maiden?"

Edward turned me to him by my arm. His eyes looked like that of a child's. "Didn't you feel it, Bella? When our eyes met? I knew right then that you are my beloved maiden." He grasped my hands, and they were so warm. I focused on when I had first looked into those haunting jade-colored eyes. Trying to remember what exactly I had felt.

"Y-your eyes… t-they shocked me when I glanced at them. They… they… I-I don't know how to explain it." My embarrassment was getting the best of me as I blabbered on. I shook my head quickly. Edward kissed my hand.

"You _are_ my beloved maiden, Bella. I want you." His eyes held electricity in them. He wants me? What is he implying? What the hell is this? I slapped him before I could control myself.

Edward was shocked. "Prince or no Prince, you can't just barge in like –" I turned away from them and grasped my hair. "This is _too_ much! I must be _dreaming_! This can't be happening! None of this can be real!"

"His beloved maiden or not, I won't let you speak like that nor strike the Prince! How dare you!" Stephen spat angrily. "Respect him! You should –"

"Stephen," Edward warned from behind me. Stephen immediately shut up. "This must be really hard for her." I could feel an eye roll. "And please, I've told you before; you don't have to call me by any title. It's just Edward." I turned to them. I don't know why I had the urge to cry. Maybe it was the stress?

"You got that right," I said, referring to what Edward had said about 'this being hard for me' and sat on the couch, covering my face with my hands. I knew what I had done was something that really didn't make sense—slapping him like that—but I didn't even think about doing it. I just… did. Renee has always said that I have a bad habit of doing and saying things before I have thought them out thoroughly. I wonder what is going to happen now. Now that I know that this magical kingdom exists, what will happen to me? My head is spinning. I shouldn't have gotten involved with that wolf. It's just as Stephen said: I'm really reckless.

"Does Alistair know where you have taken me?" I heard Edward ask.

"No, he doesn't know where you are. Or at least he didn't," Stephen said.

"What do you mean? I stayed in the forest just as you instructed me to do, how could he –"

"You used your magic, and the curse he had cast on you is broken, Edward. Let us just hope he, nor Jasper, can sense it," Stephen said. "It will be very dangerous if he finds you. God only knows what he would do to you if he does."

"But… What about Prince Edward's parents?" I asked weakly, glancing up at them. Surely, Edward's parents would do something to protect their son. Unless they're as bad as his cousins. Edward sat beside me; his cheek was red from where I slapped him. Guilt washed over me. "I'm sorry," I whispered, staring at his cheek.

He shook his head and whispered, "Forget about it," He has been very nice to me, and I have been –

"Prince Alistair and his brother, Prince Jasper, are the orphans of the Royal family of Maldecido; everyone pities them and spoils them—especially Edward's parents, who were the ones who adopted them," Stephen explained to me, crossing his arms over his chest. "And Edward is not a very… easy Prince to deal with. His parents think he fled from the Kingdom, as he has done countless times. It has only been a month since his disappearance; the King and Queen are not worried. Edward has been out of the kingdom for months before without alerted any one of his whereabouts. And when he returns, he has never said where he has been. The Queen and King can't do anything if he does not respond to the questions that they ask him. He is a twenty-two year old, after all – an adult."

"But that's quite irresponsible!" I said loudly. "What if this time he hadn't run away? What if Edward had gotten in some sort of trouble? Kidnapped, even. Just because he's twenty-two –"

"Do not disrespect the King and Queen, commoner!" Stephen practically yelled. He was becoming irritated, and so was I.

"The point is," Edward cut off. "My parents will never believe me – they never do. So it's pointless to even broach the subject with them," Edward said. I looked at him. Is there a reason as to why they would not believe him?

Where he goes to when he runs away from his home? Why wouldn't he even tell his family where he goes to? And what is the reason as to why he flees? I looked at him. I wonder if he's okay right now. That lonely look in his eyes… Does anyone besides me notice it?

Edward looked at Stephen with a face of determination. "I'm going back, Stephen, and I'm going to fight them," Edward said. Stephen was about to argue on the matter, but Edward stopped him. "I will not lose my kingdom to them. I know why they want me gone – at least I know why Alistair does. He wants Maldecido to himself and be rid of me once he is the King – no one will be able to go against his orders. But now I am my normal self again. I can fight them. This is what I should have done _years_ ago."

Stephen looked tightly bound, but he eventually nodded. After all, he couldn't defy the Prince's request. Stephen took out a silver pen and went to the west wall of the living room. He began to draw a large oval on the wall. Wait… My eyes widened, and I quickly stood up from the couch, pointing to the wall where he had drawn the oval in panic.

"What are you doing?" I asked anxiously. How can he just…draw on the wall like that! What will Charlie say when he comes back from California and sees it?

"Relax, it will disappear once we pass through the portal," Stephen explained slightly irritated. I was about to speak, but when the big oval suddenly shone, I shut my mouth. I looked in awe as bright light covered the oval; blue lines were swirling on the inside of it.

"Bella," Edward said as he got up from the couch and turned to me. I was still looking in both awe and panic at the portal. I still think I'm dreaming. Edward's cheek wasn't red anymore when I looked at him, at least. Somehow, the guilt of that vanished. He kissed my cheek again, and I felt myself blush all over again. Why is my heart beating so hard? "Thank you, my beloved maiden. I'll come back soon."

I panicked. "What? No, you can't!" I must be losing my mind. I can't take anymore of this! Magical kingdom? Evil cousins? Magical portal? A prince who was under a spell and claims I'm his beloved maiden? And if he comes back and Charlie's here, how will I explain this to him? What will Charlie _do_ to him? No way in hell!

Edward made a face. "If I say I am, then I am!" he said stubbornly. Is he serious? I don't care if he's a Prince or not. He will not come back here! I can't afford that.

"I say you're not!" I said back. Edward was going to say something else, but Stephen cut him off.

"Edward, it is time."

Edward walked to the oval shaped portal and extended a hand towards it. I thought he was going to fall into it, but he didn't. It was as if there was an invisible glass that was preventing him from entering. Stephen and Edward weren't expecting this; it was clear on their faces.

"It seems that Prince Alistair or Prince Jasper have put a spell so that you cannot go back," Stephen noted. For the first time, there was shock in his voice. Were his cousins that powerful and evil? Wait… if he can't go back, then –

Stephen turned to me and shoved Edward at me. "You will have to take care of Prince Edward while I head back and figure how to break that spell."

"Wait a second –!" I gasped.

"Oh, and he shouldn't remained in the nude," Stephen said, eyeing Edward. Both Edward and I blushed, but I was too panicked to even care. How can this… a prince from a magical kingdom in God knows where stay in my house? There is no way!

"I'll be going then," Stephen remarked lightly and stepped into the portal before I could stop him.

"Wait!" I shouted and ran to the portal, which was closing. I was too late as I watched the portal close. Just as Stephen said, the oval that he had drawn disappeared once it was closed. "No!" What am I suppose to do now? I have school tomorrow. How can I keep an eye on this prince and attend my classes at the same time? And what if that Alistair or Jasper come to get him and see me too? What will they do to me? Am I in danger now that the prince is staying with me?

"Bella." I couldn't respond to him. I didn't want to. I kneeled on the ground and stared at the wall. My throat was dry. What am I going to do now? This is all a nightmare!

"I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble for you." He sounded sad, which made me feel guilty.

I didn't answer him. I stood up from the ground slowly, trying to control my thoughts, my emotions.

"Are you alright?" he asked me. Why are you worrying about me so much?

I shook my head. "No, of course I'm not!" I quickly walked to the staircase, calling him to follow me. I went to Charlie's dresser and picked a plain T-shirt and shorts. They were bound to fit him. If not, well I couldn't do more just then. I waited for him to get dressed downstairs. I wasn't hungry. I was only tired now. My eyelids were closing by themselves as I rested my head on the armrest of the sofa. I tried to resist the urge to sleep until Edward came down. I need to set rules for his stay and fix him a place to sleep, but my eyelids have another idea. My eyelids closed, and in moments, the darkness over took me.

**A/N:** Hope you liked it. :)


	3. Bella is Mine

**A/N: **Nothing much to say, I just want to thank you all for supporting me and this new story. :D

Answers for the questions that were asked:

**:** Jasper's a villain. Dark.

**Beta:** HopeStreet

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight...

**Warning: **Possessive Edward ;)

**

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Chapter 3 – Bella is mine**

**Bella's POV**

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I woke up with a startled gasp the next morning when I opened my eyes and found the prince's face inches from mine. I fell to the floor with a 'thud' and accidentally knocked a cup off the coffee table. It was empty, however, so that was lucky. Nonetheless, the cup shattered when it made contact with the wooden floor, a piece piercing the skin of my hand slightly. I hissed at the dull pain.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, all the amusement in his eyes vanished when he saw that I had gotten hurt. Now he only looked concern.

I looked at the man in front of me in pure horror and amazement, ignoring my cut. It wasn't a dream? He's real? Did yesterday _really_ happen?

Edward smiled mischievously—an idea surely on his mind—and kneeled in front of me. He took my wounded hand in his, his eyes never leaving my own. I shuddered when he chuckled under his breath and began to lick the wound. His tongue moved gracefully on and around the cut, leaving trails of his saliva behind. The cut began to disappear slowly, as well as the sharp pain. But I was embarrassed. The first time he had licked a wound of mine, he was a wolf, but now he's a _man_—a handsome man licking my hand.

His beautiful eyes were on me, and I noticed that there was a playful gleam in them, with no concern whatsoever, in contrast to what had been present the day before. I wanted to move far away from him—far away from this stranger—but I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. He pulled me to him by my hand after he had healed my wound and then draped his loose arm around my waist, securing me between his legs. My breath caught in my throat as he smirked and took my index finger back into his mouth. He sucked my finger gently, his sharp teeth grazing my skin.

"W-what—?" I gasped, utterly embarrassed as he continued to suck my finger. He let out a chuckle in response, the tips of his hair falling over closed eyes. He let out a moan as he sucked my finger gently, using the tip of his tongue to graze my fingertip. He pulled me closer to him and opened his eyes when I fell on his chest. He smiled. What's wrong with this guy? My heartbeat started to increase its speed, and I realized that I had to get away from him fast. "G-get away from me!"

I shove him backward and quickly stood up as he lost his balance and fell backwards. But he was laughing.

"It's so easy to tease you!" There was a tear at the corner of his eye as he laughed. I was ready to tell him off, but when I saw a pillow and a blanket on the couch, I stopped.

"Did you bring these here?" I asked him, referring to the blanket and pillow. Edward quieted down a bit and looked at the couch.

"Yes, I did," he snickered, wiping away the tear from his eye. "When I came downstairs after I had changed, I found you sleeping there. I was going to bring you to your room, but when I attempted to, you refused," Edward said and got up from the floor. All signs of laughter were gone. "You even punched me in the stomach. See?" He pointed to his bare stomach area, and there was indeed, a faint red mark from where apparently I had punched him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "My mother has told me countless times that I do and say things before I think them through. And the fact that I was sleeping didn't make it any better. Regardless, I'm sorry, Edward."

I really _did_ feel smiled like a child suddenly. "You know… you're the first person that has hit me. Not even my _mother_ hits me." I smiled nervously and then he let out a laugh, assuring me that it was all right, that he had forgiven me.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Make me something to eat," he said to me suddenly. I made a face.

"I'm not your maid," I scoffed.

"I have servants that do all kind of things for me so I don't know how to cook," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "However, if you want to take the risk of me burning your kitchen or wasting food, then…"

"Fine," I sighed and motioned him to follow me to the kitchen.

He was grinning as he hopped on a stool, taking in my every move. He looked utterly curious behind that grinning face. I suppose that it's because he finds this normal and boring world fascinating. He must be curious about life here, since it's a new world with different experiences for him. He's like a newborn, experimenting and exploring his surroundings, learning and asking 'what's this?' or watching with amazed eyes at the things that people do. I can't help but wonder about him. I can't help but wonder where he goes when he flees from his home, and why it is that his cousins hate him so much, and why does he say that his parents never believe him. Has he given them reason to doubt him? Is he a liar? I looked at him as this thought came to mind. Would it be all right if I ask him? After all, he is staying here; therefore, I should know about him and his world.

Something caught my eye as I looked at him.

"Hey, I gave you a shirt yesterday, didn't I?" How did I not notice that Edward was shirtless, leaving his beautifully toned chest exposed and that the button of the shorts I had given him to wear was also undone, revealing the V of his abdomen. He has such a nice body and such a handsome face… My god!

"Are you bothered by my half-naked body?" he smirked. _What's wrong with this guy? _He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in front of him after having stared at it for a long time. He eyed the red apple, narrowed his eyes before taking a big bite. "Hmm…" he moaned as he chewed. "What is this?"

"It's a fruit. We call it an apple," I explained to him and turned to the sink to wash glass bowls for our cereal. That's when I realized that I had morning breath. "I'll be right back," I mumbled and went upstairs.

_He doesn't know what an apple is? Where in the hell is Maldecido anyway? _I thought as I brushed my teeth in the tiny bathroom that was located next to my room on the second story of the house. It's cute the way he's so unfamiliar with simple things, though. I wonder why his nervousness has vanished. He's acting so…carefree.

I cleaned my face, combed my hair, and changed into something warm—it had suddenly gotten cold—and headed downstairs quickly. Edward was still eating the apple on the stool when I walked in the kitchen. He looked up at me and perked up when I came around him, heading for the sink again.

"Hey, Bella! Eat an apple! They're surprisingly good." He handed me one. He had some apple juice dripping from the corner of his mouth. When he licked it clean with his tongue, I couldn't help but remember what he had done earlier. I felt myself blush. Damn it!

He grinned. "Why are you blushing?" I turned around, trying to hide my face.

"No particular reason," I muttered a lie. "And no, thank you. I don't want an apple." I took a cereal box out of the cabinet that was above the sink and poured cereal into two bowls. I handed him a bowl full of cereal, and he looked at it in wonder, furrowing his brows. I gave him a spoon, and he took it without even glancing at it. "Anyway, I have to go to school today, so don't go out of the house, okay?" I said as I sat beside him. He nodded, looking distracted as he poured a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"Hmmm…" he moaned and continued to eat. "What time are you leaving?" he asked me after he swallowed. He glanced at me for a moment before returning to his breakfast.

"At about 7:15 or so. I like to get there early to read in the library, and also because of parking." I took a spoonful of my cereal and chewed lazily.

"I don't think you will be reading today." I glanced at him in confusion. He pointed at the clock. "It's ten past 8:00."

My eyes widened at the realization that I was running late. I quickly jumped out of my seat and ran up the stairs to my room. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I shouted.

I changed quickly and fixed my hair again. Afterwards, I hurried to the kitchen and ate the rest of my cereal as quickly as I could, then I explained some rules to Edward for staying at my house before rushing outside. I was panting by the time I got into my truck.

"I have never been late to school in all my _life_!" I grumbled as I turned on the engine of my Chevy. I was about to drive off, but my eyes landed on the house, and I was unable to move my foot. I gazed at the house nervously—the truck roaring to life in the background—and wondered if the prince would be all right alone. He knows he's not supposed to leave the house; it would be dangerous, but what if…

I looked at my watch; it was 8:30 already. _Think, Bella, think! _Okay… If I go to school now, I'll get a tardy on my record, and everyone will want to know why I was late, since I never am. However, if I don't go to school, I can watch Edward and can even take him to buy some clothes…

"Crap… What should I do?" I whispered desperately, drumming my fingers quickly on the steering wheel as I glanced at the clock. The hands of the clock were practically ticking on my ear, the house glaring at me, and my foot on the gas pedal, urging me to press it and go to school. I perked up in my seat when I saw Edward glancing through the living room window. When he realized that I was still there looking at him, he shook his head and disappeared from the window. Seconds later, he opened the front door and began to walk toward me slowly, his hand in his pocket. I rolled the window of my car down, and Edward leaned into my open window, lowering himself so he could be eye level with me.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm not a kid," he joked. But I couldn't help but to worry.

"But what if those cousins of yours—"

"—they won't find me. Even though I've used magic to cure you, it'll take more than that for Alistair or Jasper to figure out where I am." He was confident. "Go to school. I don't want you to get in any more trouble because of me." He kissed me on my cheek. "I'll see you later."

"F-fine," I stammered weakly and watched as he headed back inside. Before he closed the door, he looked at me over his shoulder and sent me a smile. With a deep breath, I began to drive to school.

I could not shake the feeling that this day wasn't going to make my 'top ten days' list.

**-0o0oo0o0-**

"Could this day get any worse?" I asked weakly of my best friend, Alexander, as we headed for the lunchroom. He smiled softly, glancing at me. He held his books to his chest tighter as he shifted his book bag, which was hanging on one shoulder.

"I guess the science quiz went bad?" he wondered in his soft, sweet voice.

"I forgot there was a quiz today—and that's not all. I was late to school this morning, and then I forgot to hand in my essay for English class, which is the class I missed because I was late—I'm fail as a student."

He furrowed his blonde, thin brows as we headed for the busy lunch line. The conversations in the room buzzed in my ears, the smell of food traveled through my nostrils. I glanced at the table where I usually sat with Alex to see if there were any available seats for us as we reached the lunch line, but I found it was full. Guess we'll have to sit somewhere else.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked me. His voice made me take notice of him again. Alexander fixed his glasses back in place as they were slowly sliding down his nose. "Usually you keep everything in order, and you are very responsible with school work." He sounded worried. I smiled at him warmly, thankful that he was always worried about me. Alexander was the first friend I made when I enrolled in this school. I remember getting lost finding my classes on my first day and then bumping into Alexander in the hallway. We were both running late to our second period class, and luckily, we were in the same class that day, so we helped each other out. Since then, we've been like macaroni and cheese.

The reason as to why Alexander had been late that day, he explained to me when we became close, was because he had been in the janitor's closet with his boyfriend, Adrien. Although Alex and Adrien engage in sexual foreplay from time to time, Alex tells me that Adrien makes him perform certain sexual acts that he is not comfortable doing nor does he want to engage in. Unfortunately, Alexander ends up doing everything Adrien tells him to do because if Adrien wants it and if Alexander really loved him, he should just do it. Adrien thinks he's weak because he cannot say 'no.' I think that Alexander is afraid of Adrien but won't admit it. I don't think Alexander should be forced to perform any sexual acts, especially if he feels it's the only way that Adrien will stay with him. This relationship borders on being abusive. I know that Alexander loves Adrien a lot, but I wonder if Adrien loves him back just as much.

I worry about his abusive and obsessive boyfriend, and I have urged Alex constantly to let him go, but Alexander will only tell me that everything is fine and that I don't need to worry about him. But how can I not worry? He's my best friend.

"Hey, gay nerd," Anna, one of the cheerleaders, teased him as she passed by Alexander, laughing mockingly along with Laura, another cheerleader, as they walked to the 'popular' table.

I glared at her and narrowed my eyes. _'Gay nerd'_… That's what the 'popular' kids—or should I say, 'the sluts and dickheads'—call Alexander just because he's gay. There is no gender or age difference when it comes to love, that's what I always say. Although I know that there are people who think differently, of course, I still don't like it when they tease other people just because they are gay or maybe the age difference is too big or any reason where the outcome is to make them seem better than another.

"I don't mind anymore—I'm used to it," Alexander shrugged as I glared at Anna and Laura.

"That's not the point. Anna and Laura are..." I let the words die, knowing that I was going to say something out of hand. Alexander laughed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about them. At least I don't have herpes like Anna." I let out a laugh at that.

Then I remembered. "Hey, where's Adrien?" I asked him, noticing that Adrien was nowhere to be found. At every break, Adrien and Alexander usually meet and get all lovey-dovey with each other. I'm surprised he's not here yet.

When Alexander let out a heavy sigh, I furrowed my brows. The look on his face told me that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I asked him immediately.

"…I dumped him."

My eyes widened, and I gaped at him. I would have congratulated him because he finally got rid of that obsessive boy and that maybe, finally he has realized that he's not weak like he has told me, but I decided not to. I know that the reason that he dumped Adrien has to be very serious, because Alexander loves him with all his heart. And if he dumped him, he must be hurting inside, even if he is smiling because Alexander is like that sometimes.

My tone of voice got softer, and I held Alexander's hand as I asked, "Why?"

"He wanted to go all the way, and I didn't want to," he told me. I felt my eyes darken, but at the same time soften. I knew that this would happen soon. It always does.

"I really want to say 'I told you so'… but I won't," I said sincerely. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I guess," he sighed. He paused, and then groaned, "He probably hates me now."

"_No, don't go there_, Alex!" I warned strongly. He looked at me. "Alexander, you don't have to force yourself to do anything that you don't want to. If Adrien loved you like he says he does, then he wouldn't force you, and he should wait until you were ready."

"I know, but… I _really _wanted to do it with him, but I'm scared," he confessed. "God, I'm such a pussy, huh?"

I shook my head. "You are _not._ Having sex is a huge, terrifying step. In a way it is just like marriage. Who_ wouldn't _be scared?"

He nodded. I caressed his soft blonde hair and trailed my hand to his cheek, cupping it. "If he loves you, if he doesn't want to lose you, if he's willing to wait until _you're_ ready… then he'll come looking for you," I said. "But, if he doesn't, however, then he's an _idiot_. He'll never know what he lost, and when he realizes it, it'll be too late." Alexander smiled and kissed my forehead.

"What would I do without you, Bella Swan?" he smirked. I smiled.

"What would I do without _you_, Alexander Grey?"

"Bella, Bella! There's a guy looking for you," Jessica breathed, rushing up to me. She was smiling as she caught her breath, resting her hands on my shoulders.

"A guy?" Alexander asked, surprised. Jessica nodded at him, grinning now.

"A _hot _guy!" she explained further. Alexander and Jessica exchanged a look that said it all. "And he also has beautiful green eyes."

Alexander smiled. "Green eyes _and_ he's hot?" They both turned to me. "My, my, Bella Swan, and I thought I was your best friend? Why haven't you told me about this guy?"

"Yeah, same here!"

My heart did a flip. _Green eyes? _I hope she's not talking about Edward. No, it can't be him. He couldn't be here; he doesn't know where the high school is. But what if it is him? What if something's wrong? What if his cousins found out about him staying at my house? There were so many possibilities that my head was spinning.

"Where is he?" I asked quickly, nervously. She pointed toward the parking lot.

"He's waiting outside. I told him he could come in, but he refused. He's very stubborn, that guy," she mumbled. My stomach was tied in knots.

"Jess, our friend Bella is nervous. Just look at her _face_," Alexander said with wide eyes. But he was also laughing. Jessica joined him.

"I'll say. Keeping secrets, Swan! Shame on you!"

"You two are misunderstanding the situation," I shook my head. "Be right back."

I left Alexander and Jessica laughing in the lunch line, then heard the lunch lady scolding them to hurry up, that they were holding up the line.

I walked quickly through the lunchroom, looking out the window to see if I could catch sight of Edward. If it was him, anyway.

"Hey, Bella! Wait up!" I heard one of my classmates, Daniel, call out. According to Alexander and Jessica, Daniel has a crush on me. I would've stopped to see what he wanted, but knowing that Edward could be outside, I refused to. Many thoughts were running through my mind as I busted through the lunchroom doors and walked outside. But I didn't see him. I didn't see anyone.

What if this is a trap?

When my eyes landed on my truck, I gasped. Edward was there, leaning against my truck. He had a lazy smirk gracing his lips as he glanced around, his arms crossed across his bare chest. I wondered if he was even aware that I was ten feet away from him. What the hell is he doing here? And how did he get here?

"Bella, didn't you hear me calling you?" Daniel's voice came from behind me. Just as I was going to turn to Daniel to tell him that I was in a rush, Edward met my eyes.

"Daniel, I'm in a hurry—"

"—It won't take long," he said and scratched the back of his head. He seemed nervous. "Bella, if you're free this weekend... would you like to go see a movie with me?" My heart stopped.

I knew that it must have taken a lot of courage for Daniel to ask this... "Daniel, I—" A pair of strong arms hugged me around my waist, pulling me closer, startling me. It was Edward. He was narrowing his eyes at Daniel dangerously. It frightened me slightly. I have never seen such a dark gaze on anybody before. Daniel's breath hitched.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Edward. He ignored me.

"Bella is mine, kid, grasp that. She belongs to me," he said, his voice was aggressive in tone. Edward looked so dangerous as he stared down at Daniel, who was stumbling backwards and was stammering his words. He sent me a glance and quickly ran back into the lunchroom. My heartbeat was echoing in my ears.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him, trying to break free from his grasp. "Let me go, Edward."

_What has gotten into him?_

I looked up at Edward as he ignored me. He was eyeing the door where Daniel had run through. I was going to speak again, but he took me by the arm and dragged me inside the lunchroom quickly, roughly.

"_Hey!" _he shouted angrily, and every pair of eyes that was in the room looked at us. Everyone quieted down quickly. What is he going to do? "Bella Swan is _mine_! I want every guy in this room to grasp this!" I made a face. _Why is he claiming me? What the hell is wrong with this guy? _And to think that I was going to give him a chance. My eyes quickly scanned the room to see if I could find Alexander and Jessica. I did. They were watching me, wearing surprised expressions. Alexander looked like he was at war with himself. He looked like he wanted to break Edward's face, but it was also obvious that he wanted to stay away from him at the same time. I don't blame him. Edward looked like a demon right now.

I gasped when Edward pushed me to the wall that was beside us and grabbed my wrists, raising them above my head, pressing them hard on the cold, pale wall. His green eyes had a furious red color that blended in with the green. It was a frightening color. The tips of his hair fell over his eyes again, his lips curved in a sick smile.

"I'm going to show everyone here that you're mine," he said lowly for only me to hear. My eyes widened at his words. What was he intending to do to me? Surely he wouldn't—

I wanted to talk. I wanted to push him away, but why couldn't I? This was not like the times when I have been so afraid that the fear had overtaken my body to the point of immobility. This time was different. It was as if, something, some force, wouldn't let me talk or move.

"You must be wondering why you can't move or talk," Edward said lowly. I looked at him. "That's a result of some of my powers. I'm sorry I had to do this, Bella, but I have to." My eyes widened. Now I really wanted to get away from him. Who does he think he is?

All I could hear were whispers—I couldn't blame them. They were wondering what was wrong with this guy, just as I was wondering. I'm sure they were also wondering what he was going to do to me, just as I was wondering.

My mind went blank, all the whispers around me were no more, and my heart probably stopped beating when Edward's lips crashed to mine forcefully. _Get off me! _Oh, how I wanted to scream right now, shove him away and slap him! He bit my bottom lip hard, which made me gasp, soundlessly of course. His teeth were so sharp that his bite made my lip bleed.

I tried to make a sound of disapproval when I felt his hand disappear under my sweater and then my bra, groping me. My face began to flush. People around us began to stand up from their chairs. I saw them from over Edward's shoulders. I could tell they wanted to do something to get Edward off me, but they didn't know what. Moreover, Edward sent them deathly glares if they got too close. Edward was terrifying at this moment. He was _terrifying. _

"B-Bella!" Alexander called. But just like the others, he was afraid to get closer.

Edward's lips finally left mine, leaving me wide-eyed. _My first kiss…_

I whimpered when he groped my breast with more force, and this time, he looked at everyone. My face flushed as I felt exposed to everyone.

"She's mine, got that?" he spoke to the crowd of students. Everyone's face was the same—shocked and worried. Even the teachers present in the lunchroom didn't move. Maybe Edward used his power on them as well? Edward's hand left my breast finally.

He dragged me outside quickly to the truck. Part of the power Edward was using against me released. Now I could move; however, I still couldn't speak. He opened the passenger seat for me and buckled me in with the seatbelt. Besides the anger I was feeling, I was also in shock. This can't be Edward's true character. What has gotten into him and why?

I had a strong suspicion that Alistair and Jasper were the least of my worries. Now I have to worry about Edward who thinks I belong to him, and apparently thinks he has to make every guy grasp that by making a strong visual statement—like kissing me and groping me—to get his point across. I hope I'm wrong though.

Edward began to drive the truck. "I'm sorry that I did that, but I just had to let them all know," he said. My lip was still bleeding, I realized. And my insides were burning. Why? Is this a spell of his? Is he doing something else to me now?

"I can't believe you did that to me!" I shouted when I was finally able to speak. My voice was rough. His eyes didn't have that dangerous, dark gaze anymore, and his voice was back to normal. He was going to take my hand, but I jerked it away. "Don't touch me!"

He sighed. "I only wanted to let them know you were mine. Is that wrong?"

"Of course it is!" I shouted. "I'm not yours okay? I just… broke that curse! You can't just come to my school, use your powers against me, kiss me and grope me like that in front of everyone. What kind of prince are you? Moreover, you can't say that I'm yours and anything else that you want! It doesn't work like that in this world, Edward. It just doesn't." I was getting teary eyed, which I hated. All the emotions that I was feeling were starting to overflow, and the result was tears.

There were three words that I wanted to say to him right now_: I hate you._

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A/N**: Jasper will be make an appearance on the next chapter ;) Hope you enjoyed!

Any thoughts?_  
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	4. Looks Like She's Not Yours After All

**A/N: **Well hello there :)

I'm currently at my house, sick, and with my own personal... nurse guy here taking care of me, haha. My bf (^_^) So sweet. Anyway, here's the chapter y'all been waiting for! In this chapter, Jasper will make his appearince!

I would like to thank my Beta for all her hard work! (^_^) And you guys for your awesome feedback, and for reading this new story. Just knowing you do makes me very happy and makes this stupid cold less horrible hehe. THANK YOU! =n.n=

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or Twilight and blah, blah, blah.

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Chapter 4 – Looks like she's not yours after all

**Bella's POV **

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The afternoon in my house had been tense. Edward had locked himself up in Charlie's room after we got home from school. I thought it was because of what he had done back at my school, but I'm not sure anymore. I had tip-toed to Charlie's room earlier, and all I could hear were mumbles coming from inside the room. He was arguing with someone. Who could it be? I don't know. But he seemed troubled. Do they have cell phones where he is from? I seriously doubt that there are phones where he is from. Hell, they don't have apples! Is he talking to himself?

How could he be talking to anyone in the room? Hell, should I care? He didn't care when he showed up at my school and kissed me and did those other things to me against my will. Well, why should I care if he's troubled or not? Either way, he's not my responsibility. He's Stephen's. But still…What has gotten into him? And why does my body feel weird?

It was a feeling that I had never experienced before. I wonder if it was some sort of…pleasure? But I wasn't sure. I was so shocked when he kissed me that I really don't know what to think. I have never done anything with a boy to know what those kinds of feelings are. Hell, I have never really had a boyfriend before. And it's not because I'm not pretty, I am, but it's because all the boys that have confessed their interest to me, well… I just don't like them. I mean, Daniel, for instance. He's a nice kid, good grades, cute face… but he's just not for me. Maybe for Angela, who is his soul mate–though neither of them know…yet.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. Either way, what he did was wrong. It was humiliating. I want to hate him but… I groaned and opened my eyes, scanning my kitchen, trying to stop myself from thinking more about what had just occurred. My eyes landed on the basket full of red apples, and I took one. I stared at its shiny red skin. As I studied the color of the apple, I couldn't help but remember Edward's eyes. They had changed into a fury green/red color when he began to tell everyone that I was his. I wonder what got into him. I wonder if that's his true character. And I wonder if this character will show again. I hope not.

I jumped, startled, when my phone vibrated. It was a text from Alexander.

_Bella where the hell are u? _

I bit my lip, wondering what I was going to say. I knew that I couldn't get into too much detail, for I didn't want to tell Alexander about Edward. I didn't want him to get involved. No one can know about this…

_I'm at my house_… I replied hesitantly.

Just as I laid down the phone on the table, I got another text from him.

_At your house? Wait, where's that guy? Did he do something else to u? Are you ok? B, I swear that I am going to break his face if I see him again. I can't believe that he did something like that to you. Nobody does that to my girl and gets away with it_...

I couldn't help but smile at his last sentence.

_You're the best friend in the world, you know that? (^_^) I'm fine, hon, thanks for always worrying about me. And you don't have to worry about that guy anymore, ok? _

There was another text.

_If you say so... But you know that I am here for u – always. _

I smiled. _I know. Thanks. :] _

I looked over my shoulder when I heard Edward coming down the stairs – he had taken a shower. His hair was wet and ruffled atop his head. He had a white T-shirt on; I noticed that it was the one that I gave him yesterday. He had on another pair of shorts this time. They were denim and had the same crest design as the one on his chest on the right side of the pant leg. I wondered where he got those shorts.

Before he could meet my eyes, I turned around in the stool and locked my eyes on the apple, not wanting to look at him anymore.

"Bella," he said, passing me slowly. I refused to look at him. "Bella I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, but… I don't know what came over me. I'm really sorry."

I refused to talk. He sighed. "Aren't you going to say something?"

I shook my head only. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Look I'll do anything – _anything _– if it means that you'll forgive me."

I turned to him slowly as I felt him lean into the table across from me. His eyes were wide, and there was hope in them.

"Why did you do that?" I asked coldly.

He paused before answering. "I…don't know," he answered. I scoffed and was about to get up, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me down. I looked at him, making a face as I jerked my hand from his grasp. He looked like he was expecting me to do that.

"_Listen to me_," he pleaded. He paused, thinking. "I don't know how to explain it…"

"_Try_."

He let out a sigh. "I sometimes act like that – I can't help it. I try to control myself, but I can't. It's like…my emotions…control me…I don't think…I just act."

I understood him, because at times I have said or done things without thinking them through, and the results haven't been pretty.

"I understand you," I told him, because I really did. "Although next time – which I hope there isn't – I won't forgive you. Because what you did to me was embarrassing, and…" I let the sentence die. "You have to try and control yourself when you're like that."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I know that I–" he stopped talking when I clasped my hand over his mouth, not wanting to hear anymore. Frankly, I wanted to forget that it had ever happened.

"You're forgiven," I told him. I removed my hand and saw how his lips turned into a soft smile.

The prince sat beside me on the stool next to mine. "I'm relieved."

When he glanced at the apple that was in my hands and stared at it, I knew he wanted it. Just by the way his eyes shined, how I saw him swallow. He looked desperate, impatient. Just like a child.

"Here," I handed him the apple, and he took it without a second thought.

"Thanks." He moaned and licked the apple juices from his lips when he took the first bite. I watched in silence as he ate the apple, my mind blank. I think I would've gone on a trip to Mars if he hadn't spoken. "Why must the forbidden things taste so sweet?"

"I guess it's to tempt you," I replied. "After all, forbidden things are always the ones that you want to have the most, don't you agree?"

He had a far off look. "I do."

We remained in silence for a long time. I continued to stare as he ate his red apple, but then I remembered what he was wearing, or better yet, what his pants had – the crest.

"What's that crest that's on your shorts?" He looked at me, chewing the apple slowly now. "You also have a tattoo like that on your chest."

He seemed to know what I was talking about, because he nodded.

"That crest tells that I am part of the Royal family," he explained, licking the apple juice off his lips. "Every Prince in Maldecido is obligated to have a crest that identifies them when they are born."

"So your cousins have crests as well, I suppose?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes, they do. Alistair's crest is a flame in the form of the letter A. It has an eclipse above it. Jasper's is a red crescent moon, and there's a hand with long black nails. The nail of the index finger has the letter J carved on it, which is pointing at the moon. Alistair's crest is on his shoulder, and Jasper's crest is on his arm, and mine, as you know, is on my chest." I nodded, taking in this new information.

Edward looked distant again as he placed the core of the fruit on the table. His tone had gotten softer, I'd noticed. I wonder if it's because I made him remember the trouble with his cousins – his cousins who want him gone…

"They don't really have a meaning to them, I suppose," he whispered, casting his eyes down, the faraway look still on his face. "My mother told me that when a prince makes love for the first time, the same crest appears on his lover's body – on the same spot his is located. My mother has my father's crest on her shoulder, just like his."

That sounds interesting, and I'm suddenly intrigued by his world, but the strange tone in which he is speaking bugs me.

"What's wrong?" I couldn't help but ask.

"What?" he asked quickly, lifting his eyes to mine. He sounded like he wasn't expecting to hear my voice, like he wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him. It was as if he was so lost in thought that I spoke, I caught him off guard when I spoke. I furrowed my brows in wonder.

When he looked at me, I saw something in his eyes that disturbed me. His eyes had that sad look in them again. Why does he look so sad and lonely?

Maybe the thought of his cousins wanting him gone really affects him more than I think, more than he wants to admit. After all, they are his family. Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on him.

"What's wrong? You look distant."

He wanted to shrug it off by laughing, I could tell. "Nothing's wrong," he replied, but I knew it was a lie.

I raised one eyebrow in doubt. He simply rolled his eyes and shrugged me off.

"Now to answer your previous question," he began, wanting to change the subject, "The reason as to why I have my crest on my jeans is because I like it so much that I ordered my servants to make the design on all my clothing. At least the casual ones."

That certainly caught my attention.

"Wait… How did you get your clothes here?" I asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"Stephen brought them to me. He brought me a lot of clothes and other items that I will be needing because he doesn't know when I'll be going back. He is still working on the spell that was cast on the portal. He told me that it was tricky."

"But don't you know magic? Can't you break it by using spells of your own?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't work like that – so easily," he replied. "The spell that Alistair or Jasper cast on the portal was created through dark magic – the evilest magic there is. They're also stronger than I am, so their magic is more powerful than mine."

"But if their magic is so strong and not even you are able to break the spell, how will Stephen break the spell? Does he have abilities with magic as well?"

"Oh, I can break it, but it will take far too much time to figure out which spell is the proper one to break their spell. And since Stephen's been in Maldecido longer then I have been, he knows more about what we are dealing with. Stephen's one hell of a servant."

"Well I hope things will go back to normal soon," I told him. I shifted on the stool.

"Yeah," he agreed in a whisper. A couple of minutes passed in silence.

"So… does everyone in Maldecido has magical powers?"

He smiled at me. "Is this an interrogation scene?" he joked lightly. I noticed, as the light of the kitchen lit his eyes, that he didn't look as distant as before. Now he looked….happy. I couldn't help but smile as I realized this.

"I'm just curious," I pushed him playfully.

He chuckled. "Yeah, who wouldn't be? I mean, I'm interested in your world, too," he said. Edward scratched the back of his head and searched for a way to answer my question. "The people of Maldecido have powers with magic, but not as powerful as those of the Royal Family. But there are rules in Maldecido – about using magic."

"So they can't use their magic freely?" I asked.

"They can't use their magic for unnecessary things and for wrong doings," he corrected. I nodded.

I jumped slightly, startled, when the phone rang. I looked at the entrance of the living room towards the direction of the ringing.

"What is that?" the prince wondered.

"That's the phone ringing," I explained to him as I got up.

"A phone?" I heard his voice ask as I disappeared to the living room.

I shouted, "Yes, a phone. It's a communication device so that humans can communicate with one another from great distances without having to be in each other's physical presence."

I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Bella, it's me," Dad's voice carried through the line. "Listen, your grandfather…. he's not doing very well. The doctor said that it's possible he won't make it past this month." Dad was trying to be strong, but I knew he was breaking inside. It was noticeable, even if he tried to hide it in his voice. He did those pre-crying breathes at least once while he was speaking, but then he cleared his throat to hide it.

"Dad…" I said softly, feeling my chest hurt now. I don't remember my grandfather that well, but mentioning that he might die in less than a month was very heartbreaking. "Isn't there anything the doctors can do?"

"His cancer has spread too much; he's very weak as well," he replied. There's nothing that can be done, so…

I talked with Dad a while longer, trying to soothe him with words. He told me that he would be coming home depending on my grandfather's state. After talking for a while about my grandfather's health state, Charlie asked how I was doing, how school was going, and if I didn't like being alone at night, that I could go to Mrs. Grey's house and stay over. After all, Mrs. Grey, Alexander's mother, is like a second mother to me, and she loved it when I stayed over.

Alexander, obviously, did as well. He even told me that while Dad was in California, that I should stay at his house until he came back. I would have accepted, but I didn't want to be a bother, and staying home alone is not really bad, even though it was boring at to,es. But I guess things will be a little more… exciting with Edward here.

When I hung up the phone, I walked silently back to the kitchen, and sat again next to Edward, who was looking through a cookbook. He had his brows furrowed as he read through some recipes, looking utterly curious and somewhat confused. I was about to tell him something, but he perked up, as if remembering something, as I rested my elbows on the table.

No… He looked alarmed.

"I sense him again." He closed the book and got up from the stool with a look of concentration on his face.

My brows furrowed. "What? Sense who?"

"Jasper." Edward's tone, and his eyes, got darker. Meaner.

My chest tightened. "Wait, he found you? He knows you're here?"

If Jasper's as strong as Stephen has said he is and knows Edward's in his human form, God only knows what he could do if he finds him. Edward began to walk to the living room. I walked behind quickly.

"He knows I'm in your world, that's for sure," he explained to me, closing the window curtains of the living room quickly. "He can sense me, just as I sense him. That's the reason why I went to your school. I was going to warn you." He turned off the lights that were on in the living room. "I have to get out of here, I don't want to get you involved more than you already are, Bella."

"Edward – "

The sound of another voice stopped me from speaking. That voice was very dark, very rough and cold – evil. Chills ran down my spine, and our surroundings got darker. "Edward Anthony... At last I have found you."

Edward quickly shoved me behind him protectively when we heard this voice, clenching his jaw, his eyes darkening. I let out a startled gasp at the sudden movement and grasped his shirt as I lost my balance. Edward looked angry now, but also worried.

Edward didn't speak. He was gritting his teeth, his hands balled into fists, his eyes narrowed as he backed away from the coffee table. My back met the light material of the window curtains. I peeked over his shoulders, my heart in my throat, and my eyes widened when I saw a bright, oval shape hovering the coffee table. A portal?

But this portal shone differently from the way it usually does when Stephen arrives or departs. The aura was darker with black and ruby red lines swirling on the inside.

A young blonde man rose from the portal seconds later, his arms crossed across his chest as he smirked. He looked older then Edward, meaner. His eyes were an icy-blue color that looked like they could freeze all hell. His hair was bleached, and there wasn't a hair out of place. He had a crest on his bare arm. That crest… It's the same one Edward described as the one Jasper had.

_Jasper… _

The blonde man (who I am pretty sure is Jasper) landed on the ground gracefully. The portal disappeared behind him. He scanned the room and chuckled mockingly under his breath. I became defensive again. What the hell is he laughing at? Excuse me for not having a big house, imbecile! I was about to make a move – the fear I had been feeling vanished when I heard this idiot's chuckle – but Edward, apparently, noticed and grabbed me by my arm in one swift movement. This caught the blonde's eye. He turned his attention to us.

"This is the girl who broke the curse? Your _beloved maiden_?" he mocked. His voice was filled with dark amusement. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You had good taste Edward, what happened?" Now that was just insulting!

"Stay _put_," Edward hissed to me as I made another attempt to move past him.

"No!" I hissed back stubbornly. He looked at me. His eyes had that frightening glint in them again. If I said that didn't catch me off guard and frighten me, I would be lying.

"Don't be reckless, he's dangerous," he hissed. I stayed put when he shoved me behind his back again, gripping my hand harder.

I had to remind myself that these people aren't normal human beings. They could kill me or hurt me if I did something that they thought was suspicious. My common sense told me that I had to stay still, but my mind told me otherwise.

"It's me you want, Jasper," Edward's voice changed. It got rougher, meaner. The same dangerous aura that he had back at the cafeteria was back. "That's why you came here, am I right?"

I heard footsteps. "I felt a disturbance days ago, so I assumed that the spell was broken. But my brother is such an idiot that he didn't, or at least he didn't say anything about it. You know how he is; always flying solo," Jasper said. He chuckled darkly. "However, I have no intentions on killing you now; I have other plans for you. I think that making you suffer is better than killing you with a single hand movement." I heard him laugh.

Who does he think he is? Why is he doing these bad things to Edward – his cousin? I can't let this idiot do those things or say things to Edward, even though he's practically a stranger to me. Regardless, I can't bear to see anyone get emotionally hurt… I have to do something about this.

I bit Edward's arm so he would let me go. He did. He hissed and turned to me, but I was faster. I walked quickly to Jasper, forgetting the fear I once felt.

"Hey, you can't talk to him like that! Why are you being such a jerk! He's your cousin, isn't he? Would you like it if people used you? You're a selfish, spoiled, arrogant, rude jerk!" I shouted at him before I could control myself. Jasper didn't seem angry. He seemed amused.

"Bella, get away from him!" Edward shouted a warning.

I jerked back a little when Jasper extended a hand towards me.

"My… you really are reckless. Even though you must know that I can kill you by just chanting words," Jasper said, his icy glare piercing through me, but I stood strong.

Jasper was fast. He grasped my wrists and shoved me to him. I tried to break free, but he was much stronger. My attempts made him laugh. "I like that – the struggling makes it all more enjoyable."

Jasper looked at me deeply, smiling. "There's no fear in your eyes as I hold you – there's only hatred. You speak what's on your mind, not caring what others will think of you. And you also act without thinking beforehand. I like females like you. I think that you'll be a perfect princess for me." Jasper leaned into me, and licked my ear, making me shudder. "You're going to be mine."

I was out of his grasp in a second. Edward had shoved me backwards, and he was now pinning Jasper to the wall, Edward's hand on Jasper's neck.

"Don't touch her with your filthy hands!" Edward growled at him.

"Your hands are filthier than mine, Edward, don't you know?" Jasper laughed crudely. Jasper didn't seem to care that Edward was strangling him. Unless Edward wasn't putting any strength into his fingers.

"If you dare harm her –"

" – That girl will be mine in the coming of days, my puppet," Jasper said to Edward, as if a promise was being spoken. Edward had that scary face again. I have to say, it was a shock seeing him like this again, and it also frightened me a little. The look in his eyes, I noted, was harsh, cold, cruel…

"She's _mine_. If you –"

Edward began to gasp for air suddenly, as if he were in pain, his sentence cutting off. He let Jasper go and grasped his shirt tightly above his heart. He was crouched, his eyes wide, wild, scared. What's wrong? What's going on? I looked over at Jasper, and he was smiling darkly, staring at Edward.

"What did you _do _to him!" I shouted at Jasper, running to Edward's side. Jasper's eyes turned to mine, and he raised his palms in the air.

"I haven't lifted a finger," he said innocently. When Edward collapsed on the ground, I began to panic. He curled up in a ball. His face began to turn red now, the veins of his neck and arms were very prominent. He looked like he was suffering… The sight was both heartbreaking and terrifying.

I was going to touch him, but he jerked from me. "S-stay… a-away f-from me." He could barely say the words as a wave of pain hit him.

What should I do? What can I do?

Jasper began to laugh darkly, backing up to the wall behind him where a portal suddenly had been opened. His laughter sent chills down my spine, and I swear our surroundings got darker, scarier. "Looks like she's not yours after all, Edward."

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**A/N**: Poor Edward :O


	5. Bye bye?

**A/N: For those of you who waited for this update, I thank you. :) Hope you enjoy it! And thanks for those who have taken their time to review and put this on their fav and/or alert list. And a mega thanks for just reading this story and giving it a chance. **

**Chapter 5 – Bye-bye?**

**Bella's POV**

The portal that Jasper opened felt wrong. The light that beamed out of the portal was too bright, a sudden warning bell turned on in my mind as I watched it with wide eyes. When Jasper laughed, I got lightheaded. I will not faint, I told myself, I will not. He said something, but I couldn't catch what he said. Edward's groans cut Jasper's voice off. When I glanced at Edward, the light was gone. Turning around, I realized that the portal had been shut, Jasper no where in sight.

That dark, frightening atmosphere that came along with Jasper was, thankfully, gone. Now all that was left was panic. I wasn't sure what was happening to Edward, and when I tried to touch him, he jerked away from me

"Stay away," he said. Edward was very pale, his face was shiny with sweat, and in his eyes I saw the pain. A bright light of gold shot through them like lightning, then it was gone. Then back again. It was like when you flicker the light switch on and off repeatedly.

Edward tried to get up, but the pain wouldn't let him. He kneeled on the floor, and took deep breathes. Griping his shirt tightly, just above his heart, he got up slowly. He fell again and groaned. I was itching to help him.

Edward swore under his breath and tried to stand up again. He did it. Although it seemed that he was going to fall in any second. That did it. I went to him and put his arm over my shoulder and steadied him, moving my own arm to his waist. Edward tried to move away from me, but was too weak to actually use strength to get me away. So his poor attempt didn't work.

"You want to get h-hurt?" he panted. I ignored him.

"What's going on, Edward? Did Jasper do something to you?"

"I-I know what's happening-" he stopped speaking as it got difficult to breath. "J-just get me outside. Do it quickly. And then you have to run. Run like hell was following you."

I didn't understand anything, but I did what he told me to do. By the time I got to the backdoor of the house, Edward started wheezing. I tried to quicken my pace, but having a much stronger person leaning on me was difficult.

"Damn it," I whispered when I opened the backdoor. My backyard was covered in fog, making it hard to see. And no light from anywhere made it more difficult to see. Above us, I heard the cawing of birds. I glanced up quickly, my heart doing a flip, but alas, I saw nothing. I felt my skin crawl.

"The oak tree, Bella," Edward said quickly. "Get me to the oak tree."

"But I can't see where it is; the fog-"

"Just got straight forward."

We walked down the flight of stairs carefully, slowly. I glanced a couple at times at Edward as I heard him breath heavily, but I couldn't see his face with clarity.

The cawing wouldn't cease, and that made me nervous. There was something about those birds that, even though I couldn't see them, made me panic. The birds sounded as if they were laughing. _Mocking _us.

"This was supposed to be broken." I heard Edward whisper under his breath as we walked through the cold and foggy backyard. I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but I thought that making him speak while he was in pain wouldn't be a good idea.

"Here," Edward said suddenly, making stop on my tracks. "We're here; the oak tree."

And we were. As I narrowed my eyes and focused my vision, I saw a large, dark form in front of us. I set Edward against the oak tree gently, and then I heard a ripping noise, like when you break fabric. Edward had ripped his T-shirt in half with something, exposing his chest to the cold air.

"Leave me." he panted. The words he had spoken to me earlier replayed in my head: _J-just get me outside. Do it quickly. And then you have to run. Run like hell was following you._

But leaving him like this here, in a night like this? I can't do that. I panicked when he had another wave of pain.

"Edward, I know you said that I have to leave, but-"

"You have to get out of here, Bella. You don't know what's happening, you're not going to be able to help me. You're going to get hurt instead. Just get inside the house!"

And so I ran. I ran as quick as possible as I heard him yell out in pain again. Once in the house, I shut the door behind me and locked it. I quickly looked out through the tiny kitchen window, hoping to see something - _anything_- but I knew it was a waste of time; the thick fog in the backyard wasn't going to let me.

_Damn it_! I wonder what's going on with him. Why's he so much in pain? Why did he want me to leave him out there like that?

There are so many things that I do not understand. I want to learn things about him, about his world, so that when something like this happens, I'll know what to do. Because I hate to find myself bound like this, unable to do help. Unable to do _anything_.

_"Looks like she's not yours after all, Edward," _Jasper's words echoed in my ears as I gazed out the window. What did he mean by that?

I screamed and stumbled backwards when a crow appeared on the window with a loud _caw _suddenly, and then flew away. I stayed starring at the small window as I tried to calm myself. I could feel the blood traveling fast through my veins, my heart beat thumping fast on my chest.

What was up with that bird?

"Where's Edward?" a familiar male voice asked from behind me. His voice flat and bored like always.

I swore as I turned around, my heart increasing its speed. Stephen was leaning against the refrigerator, his arms crossed over his chest, his face was, like his voice, expressionless.

"What a language, little girl,"

Why doesn't he call me by my name?

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I came here for the prince, obviously. I found a way to reverse the spell that was cast on the portal, therefore Edward can go _home_ now. And let me tell you, to find a reverse spell like the one that I needed was not easy at all. I searched so many of the Great Books that I feel like my head is going to explode." he said and shook his head.

_Edward's going home? _

Everything will go back to normal then, I thought, I'll go back to my old, boring, normal life.

"Did I gave you that much of a fright?" Stephen said with a slight frown. "You look like you've seen a ghost with that colorless face and horrid expression of yours." he got impatience, as I didn't answer him, and said, "Where is the prince, commoner?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "My name is _Bella_," I corrected and crossed my arms across my chest. "And I'm glad that you managed to find out what the hell was cast on that portal and you can take Edward home, because I can't take anymore of this. And your prince is outside."

Stephen raised a brow at me. "Yes, it _is_ good. Edward shouldn't be mixing with people from _your _world." He gave me a weird look. "And may I ask _why_ the prince is outside?"

"Jasper found Edward." I shook my head. "Everything happened to fast. One moment Jasper appeared, then they started to fight and Jasper threatening Edward, and then Edward, all of a sudden, was starting to have a pain attack. Jasper left afterwards, and Edward told me to bring him outside."

Stephen looked alarmed now. "Did prince Jasper do anything to him?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I don't think that Jasper did anything. Edward told me that he _knew_ what was happening to him. He wanted me to stay away from him, that I could get hurt otherwise." I informed. Stephen nodded, his brows knit together as he gathered the information.

"I have an idea of what's going on, but I'm still not sure. If I'm correct, then how…?" Stephen began to murmur to himself, staring at the ground, his hand on his chin as he thought this over. I walked closer to him.

"Stephen?"

Stephen looked at me. "Where is he?" he asked me quickly. "I need to see if my thoughts are correct."

I have the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon. My stomach tied in knots as I led Stephen outside. The fog hasn't disappeared, if not, it's gotten worse. The crows were gone, at least. And I'm glad.

Stephen began to look around the backyard. But it's pointless, I thought, there was barely visibility.

"_There_!" Stephen said, pointing towards the foggy backyard. I tried to focus my eye sight —trying to see through this thick fog—but I failed.

"What? I can't see."

"Edward's in the forest. And he's in great pain." he explained.

"The forest? But I left him resting against the oak tree."

Stephen ignored me.

He began to walk into the backyard quickly, I was right behind him. I stumbled on my feet due to the rocks a few times, but I managed to keep his pace. My heart was thumping in my chest hard in anticipation as to what I would find when we reached the area were Edward was.

Stephen was walking straight towards the forest, as if he knew where exactly Edward was. He walked as if he had this backyard memorized even though he has never been here. He walked as if there was no fog _at all_. I could already see the blackness of the forest in front of me, greeting me. Pine trees, night creatures, and unleveled forest floor were going to welcome us in just a few seconds. I heard a weird noise that came from the forest, and my skin crawled.

"How do you know he's in there? As I told you before, I left him on a big oak tree that's on the center of the backyard." I said.

"He moved. He's in the forest, trust me. People in Maldecido have better eye sight and hearing sense than people from your world, therefore I can see and hear him better than you." Stephen explained. He stopped suddenly and I bumped into him. He turned to me. "It's best if you'd stay here."

"I'm not going to stay here, I'm going with you. I want to help him too."

"Edward is dangerous right now - he may be aggressive. He doesn't have his mind straight, so it's best for you'd to stay here."

"Aggressive? You're speaking as if he was a—" I stopped speaking as comprehension kicked in. "Is he an… _animal_?"

Stephen nodded. "I believe he is. If so, his human self is fighting inside. Edward doesn't want to change into a beast. You cannot hear, but he is forming a spell as we speak. So it's best if you'd stay here, or go back to the house. Edward wouldn't want to harm you."

_Go back_, my conscious said.

I nodded at Stephen, even though I really wanted to go with him. I began to walk slowly, cautiously, through the backyard, back to my house. I heard footsteps on the grass and branches breaking behind me, then nothing. Stephen was gone.

I returned to my house and waited in the kitchen anxiously. I glanced through the window at times, but I didn't see anything. Nobody came. At the struck of two in the morning, sleep over took me. I had tried to stay awake, but my eyelids thought differently. I fell asleep not knowing anything, like always.

_Edward…_

**-0o0o0-**

"Hey, Bella," a voice called. I furrowed my brows a little, gaining consciousness. "Bella, wake up."

I groaned and half-opened my eyes slowly. I saw a figure standing in front of me, so that drew me a little more awake. I lifted my head quickly from the kitchen table, and my eyes widened when I noticed that that figure was Edward. And he looked fresh, clean; no sweaty face, color on his face, the gold ray that was on his eyes was gone.

What happened? What cured him?

"Edward! Are you alright?" I asked him quickly, all signs of sleep gone. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the cabinet, his intense green eyes on mine - but they looked serious.

He didn't answer my question, he didn't even move. That alarmed me.

"What happened? And where's Stephen?" I asked cautiously. Edward smiled crookedly, but in a creepy way, and tilted his head to the side. Before I could react, he was in front of me.

"Hey-!" I gasped, half surprised and half frightened when he suddenly pushed me backwards and pressed me on the table with his body. He took my wrists and pressed them on the table above my head. His lips curved into a sick smile.

"I'm going to take you now," he whispered.

"W-what-? _Get off me_!" I struggled, but that made his grip on my wrists tighter, and he leaned even closer to me, trapping my body with his. He was too strong for me to handle. So many thoughts ran through my mind that made me shiver.

"Tonight your body and soul will be mine. All of you will belong to me."

"Get _off _me!"

His eyes turned from green to an icy blue in seconds. His bronze hair turned blonde, and his face changed into another man's face. A very familiar man. A man that frightened me to no end. My eyes widened and I began to struggle under him once more when I realized who it was.

_Jasper. _

"All mine, my little princess." he was a whisper away.

"_Get away from me_!" I screamed and—

-I woke up with a sweaty forehead, my mouth was dry and my breathing was fast. I looked around quickly, looking for that blonde haired boy. But I didn't see him. _Just a dream, _I thought, _just a dream._

That felt so horrible. The thought of getting raped… I shivered.

I looked at the clock after I had calmed myself down. It was 3:50 in the morning. I haven't been asleep for even two hours. Nonetheless, that terrifying dream made me lose my sleep. I was afraid to close my eyes again. I looked through the small kitchen window to notice that there was no fog anymore.

_I wonder if Edward is alright, _came the thought. I hoped he was. Where is he? Is Stephen with him? Is he cured?

There was a loud knock on the kitchen door, which made me jump. I put my guard up, eying the door.

"I think that this is a bad idea. I mean she must be asleep, she's a human after all." a familiar voice said. Then there was a heavy sigh. "It was a mistake involving her, and it was for nothing. Jasper knows she's with me, so it won't be long until Alistair finds out too. I'm afraid that they'll do something to her just to get to me.

"If she's not awake, we'll simply wake her up." Stephen said simply. I made a face. That's so typical of him. "And I'm sure that you are not ruining her life - you're just giving her excitement. And Edward, if I may say, you must concentrate on protecting _yourself,_ not that girl. More so now that that girl is-"

"I know. Don't repeat it, Stephen, just don't." There was an edge of sadness and dissapointment in his voice.

I quickly opened the door when I knew that those voices belonged to Edward and Stephen. I don't know what came over me when I saw Edward there just a few feet away from me. Without thinking, I quickly wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"I'm so happy you're all right," I whispered in his ear. He seemed shocked for a moment, but hugged me back. He was very cold… They must be freezing.

"Come inside." I told them quickly. Edward was very dirty, which I frowned at. He must've been turning on the ground in pain. The frowned quickly vanished when I remembered what he was going through.

Edward looked at Stephen suddenly. That caught my attention. "What's wrong?" I asked them.

Stephen cleared his throat and looked at me. "As I mentioned to you earlier, I have found a way to reverse the spell that Edward's cousins had cast on the portal, the one that forbid him to return to Maldecido." Stephen said. "Therefore, he can go back now to his world, and face his cousins." Stephen furrowed his brows and looked thoughtful. "We also must find out what is going on right now, Edward, since the curse, apparently, wasn't broken."

"Wait, the spell wasn't broken?" Why did I sound so shock and… sad?

"You are as confused as we are." Stephen said.

Edward wouldn't look at me now.

"Edward?" I searched for his eyes, but he was refusing to look.

"Well then," Stephen said, "We must be on our way."

No! I wanted to yell. Why wasn't Edward looking at me?

Stephen took out his silver pen and opened a portal on the wall of the house. They chanted something together in a language that I did not know, and the portal seemed to shine brighter, stronger, _different. _It wasn't like the one that Jasper had opened, though. Jasper's portal screamed malice and mischief. Then they went through the portal without any trouble, leaving me alone in the cold night.


	6. We have a problem!

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :))**

**Chapter 6 – We have a problem**

**I**t's been a week since Edward returned to his world, Maldecido. I'm still wondering what truly happened that night, that unexpected attack that overtook him. Although I had a very good idea what had happened – Stephen had said that Edward had most likely turned into an animal again, and that the curse _hadn't_ been broken. But afterwards, Edward had returned with Stephen to my house to tell me they were leaving, and he looked fine; at least on the outside. I wonder what happened? What got him back to normal?

And why wouldn't he look at me? I have to say, that made me wonder if something was wrong. I don't know Edward that much, but… Why did he look away and refused to look at me when Stephen said that the curse hadn't been broken? Edward didn't look angry, instead, his face had been expressionless.

Well, something good came out of this, I told myself, he returned to his world. Everything is back to normal. No princes coming from other worlds, no magic, no more people coming out through Portals… Every freaky thing is over. I'm back to my old life. It's for the best…

"-ella? Bella! _Yo_!" I blinked a couple of times, Alex's voice pulling me from my thoughts. He was waving his hand in front of my face as he leaned over the lunch table. Every pair of eyes on the lunch table was on me.

"What?" I asked, a little dazed, as I glanced at them.

They all smiled when I spoke - relaxed smiles. Alex pulled back and sat correctly on his seat, taking a sip from his Coca Cola.

"Had fun in Mars, Bella?" Jessica joked lightly, nudging me on my ribs softly. I laughed quietly, out of embarrassment.

Derek brought a bottle of water to his lips, drank, placed the bottle on his tray, and looked at me. His cheerful blue eyes were filled with concern. "Yeah, you've been spacing out on us ever since last week."

Four heads nodded in agreement, all the smiles gone now.

"Yeah, Bella, are you okay?" asked a worried Alyson, who was sitting on my right side. Her brown eyes were boring into mine. I suddenly felt as if she was taking a sneak peek _into _me.

I nodded quickly, averting my eyes to the lemonade bottle that I had in my hands. "Yeah, guys. I told you I'm fine. I've been just…" I shook my head and licked my bottom lip. "…Daydreaming, I guess. Nothing to be concerned about,"

The smiles were back.

"Daydreaming? About what?" Alyson asked, leaning on the table.

"About _who_?" Alex added.

"It's nothing important," I told them. I drank some of the lemonade as I stared at the entrance of the cafeteria, thinking of something that will change the topic. I knew how Alex and Jessica got when they thought I was thinking about a guy. And trust me, it wasn't pretty.

Luckily, in that moment, I saw Adrien entering the lunch room. His shinny black hair was in its usual _fashionista _hairstyle, but he had blonde highlights this time. I wonder when he got them... He was wearing tight skinny jeans (he loves them), and a dark blue V-neck shirt. Those type of clothes outlined his slender body, which is why he wore them. He had his book bag hanging over one shoulder as his dark eyes scanned the lunchroom, scanned the tables, the people. I knew who he was looking for.

"_Alex_," Jessica sung as she saw Adrien on the entrance of the lunchroom.

"_Yes, Jess_," Alex sung along.

"There's your _boyfriend_." she informed, a smile gracing her lips, pointing at Adrien. You could see Alex's cheeks flush.

Four days ago, Alex told me that Adrien had asked him if they could get back together. No… he had _begged_ him. Alex told him the do's and don'ts if they were going to get back together, and Adrien quickly agreed. He told Alex that he would change for him, that he would wait. I'm glad that Adrien realized his mistake and he worked things out with Alex, because I knew they were both hurting and yearning for each other. Alex is still frightened that something else could happen, so he's taking things slow. Adrien is doing the same. Neither one of them want to make another mistake that could ruin what they have.

I think that I have never seen two people so much in love before like those two. It's a really lovely thing to see, people being in love.

"Where is he?" Alex asked, glancing over his shoulder, following our gaze. "_Psst_!" he called when he saw Adrien. Adrien quickly looked at us and smiled when he caught Alexander's eyes.

As Adrien walked to us, I could see girls checking him out. I couldn't blame them. Adrien was a cute guy.

Alex leaned his head back to look at Adrien just as he reached our table. "Hey," Alex greeted him. Adrien leaned to him and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Alex smiled at him warmly, and they stared at each other so intensely, that it looked like they were having an unspoken conversation.

"So…" Alyson said, clapping her hands together and resting her elbows on the table, looking at me. She was doing her best not to glace at the boy couple, like everyone else. Because we felt like we were invading their private moment.

Hearing Alyson's voice was like breaking a spell for them. A spell they both were under. Alex shook his head, blinked rapidly, and got up from the chair. You could see a hint of scarlet on his cheeks. "See ya later guys," he said, taking his lunch tray. Adrien took his shoulder bag from the floor and handed it to him after Alex picked up the tray.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"We're going to the library to study for that Calculus test we have next week." Adrien answered before Alexander could.

"Yeah, but if any of you want to come with us, you're welcome to join us. Because in reality, we need all the help we can get for this test. Do any of you know how to do the exercises the teacher gave us today?"

"I know how to do them. You know I can tutor you guys if you want," Alyson suggested. "Today's practice wasn't difficult at all."

"Yeah for _you, _Aly," Jessica said, drawing circles on the plate with her fork, her eyes wide. "I was cracking my brain with them."

"Yeah, same here," Derek murmured.

"Same here," I said.

I really wasn't fond of math.

"Well why don't we go tomorrow to my place and study there? I can ask my brother to help us, since he already took Calculus." Adrien suggested. We all agreed without a second thought.

"Okay, then, tomorrow it is," Adrien smiled and took Alex's free hand. "See you around."

They hurried to the trashcan, where Alex dumped his remaining food, and left the cafeteria.

"Guys, it's not that I want to… Well… I just…" Derek rolled his eyes at Jessica as she wouldn't complete her sentence.

"Just spit it out, Jess." he told her.

"Well it's just that I don't know..." Jessica said quickly. "I mean I like Adrien a lot, don't get me wrong, and those two look perfect together, but I'm not sure if Alex did the right thing as to forgive him. If it were me, I would have waited a bit, even if I love him with all my heart."

"Why do you say that?" I asked her, furrowing my eyebrows.

"I just have a bad feeling." she replied in a whisper.

"Well I kinda see your point," Alyson said lowly. "I'm still worried about him, even though Adrien told him that he wouldn't try anything if Alex didn't want to." I nodded in agreement, because in reality, I felt the same way. It's not fun being under pressure.

"_Exactly_! That's what I'm thinking," Jessica confessed, sounding relieved that someone was thinking the same as her. "Adrien's not a bad guy, but -"

"I wouldn't worry very much," Derek cut in, taking a bite from his burger. When he swallowed, he added, "I mean they love each other a lot, anyone with eyes can see that. Adrien is just a horny guy - I wouldn't blame him. I was like that sometimes when I was with Kate, remember? And Alex is just scared, that's normal."

Kate was Derek's ex-girlfriend. She had to move to Indiana because of her family. Her departure had hurt Derek a lot, since she was the first girl he really liked - really _loved_. Derek is known to be a guy that doesn't tend to stick with one girl for too long, which is why it amazed us that they stayed together for a year and a half.

"Yeah, but did you force her to have _sex_?" Jessica asked him.

"Of course not," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "But Adrien didn't _technically_ forced Alex to-"

"_Derek_," Jessica cut him off, covering his mouth. "_Shut up_,"

"I'm going to leave. I think I'll join them at the library." I informed my friends as I got up slowly, gathering my things. They nodded at me, and continued to comment on Alex's and Adrien's relationship. It wasn't in a gossip kind of way, more like a concern kind of way. Derek was forbidden by Jessica to comment on said topic.

"_Bella_…" a voice whispered in my ears as I dumped my leftovers on the dumpster. I became alert. That voice sounds familiar. "_Bella_…"

A familiar chill suddenly ran through my whole body as this voice repeated my name.

"_Come little Bella, I'll take thee away_ …" the voice sang in my ear. The voice that sang this was amused and had mischief in it. Even after a week, I couldn't forget this haunting voice.

Jasper.

"_Into a land of enchantment…" _

I glanced around me as my throat closed. Everything—_everyone_—around me were acting normal, so I knew that Jasper wasn't messing with them too. Regardless, I had to get out of here; I had to think about the people that were in here. Jasper's dangerous, and he may hurt people if he wishes to.

But why is he here? Edward's back in his world. Unless he's just playing with my mind.

"_Come little Bella, the time's come to play…"_

I have to get out of here.

I was going to go inside the building, but a voice in the back of my head told me—no, _begged_ me—to go to the parking lot instead. I couldn't help but listen to it.

I ran to the parking lot as quick as I could. My converse sneakers were hard on the pavement as I ran to my truck at full speed. I could sense that there was someone near, so I ran faster, afraid to look around in case I saw Jasper-

"Bella!" I let out a startled yelp when I heard a male voice yell my name from behind me. I turned around to find Daniel running towards me. _Is he always in the parking lot, for God's sake? _I panted heavily.

"Are you leaving?" he wondered as he stopped in front of me. I eyed him. I sensed a bad aura around him…

"Bella." another male voice came from behind me. This voice was very familiar. It was sweet, but held an edge of warning to it. I knew who this was. But how can it? Am I dreaming? He can't possibly -

"Bella get away from him." that voice warned again. He must be here. His voice is so close, so clear. I looked behind me and felt my heart skip a beat.

"Edward," I whispered in surprised when my eyes met his.

Edward was there. Right _there_ - not three feet away from me. The clothes he was wearing had the same crest that he has on his chest, I'd noticed. He was wearing a sleeve-less black tight-shirt, revealing his muscles, and outlining his body like Adrien's clothes do. But the shirt had some very rare silver design on it. The pants he was wearing looked like that of a genie's, and so did his shoes. The dark material made his skin look paler and somehow glowing.

I didn't know I was this happy to see him until I found myself grinning like an idiot.

But Edward wasn't looking at me. He looked sharply at Daniel and pulled me to him, sending his arms around me like a protective cage. His scent hit me like lightning, and this is when I realized that he smelled like apples. Like fresh apples.

"Jasper cast a spell on him." Edward explained to me quietly, just as I sneaked a glance at Daniel. He was right. Daniel looked different. His blue eyes were dull, his face was colorless, and his voice sounded odd. How could I miss all of that?

"Can you do something?" I asked him desperately, feeling sorry for Daniel.

What Daniel did next was fast, not letting Edward respond.

Edward shoved me to the side quickly when Daniel pounced at him, making an animalistic sound. I fell on the road with a 'thud' and rolled over, a sudden pain shot through my arm. I looked over to Edward and Daniel, ignoring the sharp pain, as I heard a weird noise; they were a good five feet away from me.

Daniel was the one that made the weird noise. He was snarling and trying to bite Edward's head off as he pounced at Edward. I noticed that Daniel's teeth had become sharper, longer. They looked like a carnivore's. And his nails had gotten very long and sharp.

Daniel was pinning Edward to the ground, attempting to bite. But Edward had his knees pressed against Daniel's chest, trying to get him off of him. Edward was chanting something in another language, his eyes were very serious as he concentrated.

Daniel let out a shriek of pain, like he had been hurt somewhere, and with his large claws, he scratched Edward on his neck. I saw blood coming from the scratch, and gasped. Edward cursed, and then pushed Daniel off him. Daniel hit the road hard, but quickly got up. He didn't look like Daniel anymore. He looked like a monster.

"Edward, look out!" I warned when I saw Daniel jump high in the sky, and was ready to pounce on Edward again. But Edward moved out of his way, and when Daniel hit the road, Edward got him from behind and pinned his arms. Daniel was trying to get loose, but he couldn't. Edward began to chant something again, and Daniel shrieked in pain once more.

What's Edward doing?

Suddenly, Daniel found strength to get loose form Edward, and when he found himself free, he quickly started to scratch Edward. Edward jumped back, hissing in pain; Daniel's long, sharp nail had cut Edward on his stomach, ripping his shirt.

Then Daniel ran away, like something - or someone- was telling him to retreat. He disappeared into the trees that were behind the school building. I stared in astonishment.

"Damn it," Edward hissed. When I glanced at him, I saw that his neck was covered in blood, and the front of his shirt as well, near the new wound Daniel had given him.

"Edward," I whispered when I saw him, and quickly got up from the road. The sharp pain that I had on my arm didn't go away, and I realized that I had a scratch on my _other_ arm, which was bleeding.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked me when I reached him. His eyes, I saw, were weird. There was a shade of green in them that disturbed me.

I wonder why he came back. And again I wonder to myself, why wasn't he looking at me when he left. What's going on with him, really?

"My arm hurts a little," I said. "and I got scratched on the other one, but other than that I'm fine. What about _you_? Look at yourself, you're covered in blood-"

"I'm going to be fine." he interrupted me. "I can cure myself with a healing spell easily. I'm not human, so the healing spell will work faster," he paused, and then added, "and it'll be less painful."

_I'm not human_…

"You look human enough to me," I murmured stupidly.

"On the outside, yes. But the blood that travels through my veins says otherwise."

"Then what are you? A wizard that turns into a wolf or something?" I teased, but when he didn't smile or laugh, I gulped, thinking that I have gone too far.

"I only take the form of a wolf because I was _cursed_ to," he said, a shadow flashing through his eyes.

And this reminded me of the curse. The curse which he thought that _I _had _broken_, but I didn't. Which means that I'm not his beloved maiden. Is this why he's acting so different?

Edward shook his head. "I'm-I'm sorry, Bella, if I seem weird-"

"You do seem weird," I said before I could stop myself. He looked at me.

"I just thought that the curse had been broken. And when I found out that it wasn't… I wanted to _kill_ myself."

"Don't say that," I quickly said. "Don't _ever think_ that either. That's like running away. I'm sure that Stephen can-"

"He can't do _anything_," he cut me off. He sighed heavily. "I thought that… I thought that you were _her_, Bella; my beloved maiden. I don't understand, but… I _wanted_ her to be you."

"Edward, let's talk about this after you're healed. You're bleeding-"

"Jasper's _controlling _that kid, Bella, and I tried to reverse the spell that Jasper has him under. But Jasper ordered him to flee before I could _finish_. You know what he was going _to do _to you? He was going to _hurt you_. I'm glad that I decided to stop by and see how you were doing. If not, God knows where you could have been in this moment-" he cut himself off, like he couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Wait," I said, his words sinking in. "Jasper's _controlling_ Daniel?" If he can control _people _then…

Edward nodded. "That's not all he can do,"

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling nervous.

He ignored me. He began to walk to my truck quickly. I hurried after him, and when I reached him, I grabbed him by the arm. The pain in my arm, from when I hit the road, my body crushing it, hurt when I had grabbed Edward roughly. I decided to ignore the pain, we had more important stuff now.

When Edward turned to me, taken off guard that I would take him like that, he stared down at me. His haunting eyes still had that disturbing glint in them. Edward smelled of blood and pavement.

"Wait, what about Daniel?" I asked desperately, glancing back at the trees where he had run off to. "He's innocent—"

"—and so are _you_!" Edward nearly shouted.

"Yes, but at least I know what's going _on_! Daniel _doesn't_. We have to do something—"

"You don't know the _half _of what's really going on." he cut me off. "You may know that my world and magic exist, but you know _nothing_ about it or about those who come from there. Not even me."

I let my hand slide from his arm, and fall limply to my side. "You're right." I said. "I don't know anything, but I want to. I want to learn more from Maldecido for when things like this happens I'll know what to do. I want to be able to help, to be _useful_. And I also want to know more about you. "

He scoffed and looked off to the side. He was silent for a moment, looking for what to say. But when he broke the silence, his voice was soft, yet rough. "It's better not to know things, Bella."

I remained silent for a moment, sinking in his words. "Why do you say that?"

His eyes were unreadable when he looked at me. He motioned to the truck with his chin. "Get on the truck, and I'll explain what I can."

I nodded and handed him the keys as he asked for them.

"Give me your hand," he told me as I strapped the seatbelt when we got in the truck.

"Excuse me?"

He held out his hand. "You scratched your hand, I can cure it, remember?"

I gave him my hand and let out a low gasp when he began to lick it, his eyes closing.

The small scratched began to disappear, and so did the small burning sensation that I had been enduring. I felt my face hot again. When he was done, he opened his eyes and looked at me. His eye color changed again. The green was taking over by blue rays this time; the color was so beautiful, so intense… I couldn't look away from them, even after he pulled back. It's just like the time when I first saw those eyes, back when he was still a wolf.

I stared at him as he straightened up, closed his eyes and started to mutter something under his breath. I gasped, watching how light came from his neck and chest, where the wounds were. It was a bright white light. The light felt different. Not like any other light I had ever seen. It that was so intense, that I had to close my eyes. When I opened them again, not wanting to miss this - whatever it was - I noticed that the light was slowly vanishing. As it did, I heard Edward groan in pain, as if summoning the light had hurt him.

_I can cure myself with a healing spell easily. I'm not human, so the healing spell will work faster, and it'll be less painful._

This was the healing spell?

The bright light vanished completely, and Edward opened his eyes. They looked wild, but also tired. I saw that, through all the blood he had, the wounds had disappeared.

"I hate doing that spell," Edward said, starting the truck. "It always takes the life out of me."

"But doesn't it _heal_ you?"

"It heals my _wounds_," he explained. "it doesn't make me feel fresh and clean." He frowned, looking at his shirt. "What I wish I was right now." Edward glanced at me before adding, "Call you friends and make up some excuse as to why you left."

"Right," I had totally forgotten that I was suppose to be in class right now.

I fished for my phone in the pocket and when I found it, I quickly opened it to text Jessica.

_Jess, I left school because I wasn't feeling well. Don't worry about me, though, it might just be a cold or something related to that. Oh, and can you please stuff my book bag in you locker? Thanks!_

I let out a sigh and looked at Edward when I finished.

I looked at his exposed arm as another design caught my eye. This one was a blue snake. It had a stake in its mouth, and there was fire in the form of a seven-pointed star besides the blue snake. The star looks like the one in Edward's crest. I wonder…

"Alistair and Jasper escaped Maldecido when I returned." Edward explained suddenly.

My eyes widened and I quickly forgot all about the new tattoo I just discovered.

"I asked," he added, "my father and mother but they said that Jasper and Alistair went on a trip with two princesses they met two weeks before; father said those girls were the bachelors to be their wives." Edward shook his head. "But I know that they both lied to him. I mean how can Jasper and Alistair think of going on a trip?" his lips turned into a line. "They must be planning something."

Jasper can do great damage here. And he has taken Daniel under his control now. I'm worried about Daniel. What if Jasper does something to harm him? What about Alistair?

"I don't know what Jasper or Alistair has planned," Edward said. "but something tells me you're going to be targeted by them now."

"I'm going to be their target now?" My voice came out shaky.

Edward nodded, and I saw something flash through his eyes.

Well hell.


	7. Teach me!

**A/N: PLEASE READ! **

** Hello! I have brought you the seventh chapter of this story, and I hope that you enjoy! ^-^ I want to thank you guys for giving this story a chance. I promise you that you will enjoy it very much! I have SO many ideas for this one. As you may know, this story is rated M. I categorized it as MATURE because well… my pervy side will take a few chapters of the story to have a little fun. (Haha!)**

**IMPORTANT NOTE! Remember that I said on chapter 1 that there wasn't going to be any vampires in this story? Well, I changed my mind. Big time. The vampires are going to make a HUGE role on this story. But not quite as you imagine it will be. *smiles evilly* Now, enjoy! o3o**

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Chapter 7 – Teach Me

**Bella's POV**

When we got home, Edward quickly contacted Stephen and told him what had happened at school. Edward, apparently, hadn't told Stephen that he had left Maldecido to come here, and when Edward had to tell him that he was here, Stephen got angry with him.

"Well, Stephen wasn't happy on me being here, that's for sure," Edward said as he sat next to me. "And the fact that an innocent human was involved in this wasn't any greater news."

"But this-what happened to Daniel- is not your fault. It's _Jasper's _at fault."

"Yes, but Stephen says it's my fault for getting involve with people from your world. For getting involve innocent people, including _you_." Edward said. _And he's right_. He didn't say the words, but I know he thought of them. I think he didn't say them because he knew I was going to argue with him, saying that what happened at the school wasn't his fault at all..

"But it wasn't as if you _wanted_ to get us involved, it just happened," I said in a matter-of-fact. "Especially me. You thought that I was your beloved maiden-"

"But you aren't," His voice sounded different, and he looked away.

This immediately reminded me of the night that Stephen came to take him back, the night that he turned into a wolf again. I had been cracking my brain wondering why he wasn't looking at me after he came back from the woods. I thought he was angry at me or something. But now I'm not so sure. At the parking lot he said that he wanted me to be her. But why? It's not as if I _mean _something to him.

I wonder if he's hiding something…

Edward let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a few moments. Then he opened them and turned to me, all signs of weirdness gone. _He has this mood swings_, I thought as I stared at him, _that are not easy to understand_.

"Teach me," Edward said suddenly.

"What?" I asked, not fully comprehending what he meant.

Amusement flashed through his eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. "Teach me things from your world. Everything you can on this short time I have with you. Teach me," he said, "to be human."

**-0o0o0o-**

We made a deal.

Edward told me that if I tell him things from my world, he would tell me things from his world. I have to say, that got me interested, learning things from Maldecido. A world that human beings don't know exists. A world you could only get to by a Portal. A world where magic exists, and God knows what else.

Sometimes I wonder how that world looks like. I tried to imagine it, but somehow I can't come up with anything. Because how can you picture how a place looks like if you have never been there, and you know nothing about it?

But still I wondered. I wonder if the water was somehow cleaner there; if the wind was fresher; if the building structures were like ancient times; if there were cars, or if they rode in horses; if the people there were doing magic all the time; if they were beautiful and mysterious creatures like Edward…

But then I reminded myself of Jasper, and knew that there must be bad things too. There has to be bad people like there are good people; there has to be people who do black magic and witchcraft. Those thoughts made me shudder.

I felt drawn to that place, and I didn't know why. I felt drawn to it like I felt drawn to Edward. Hm.

I showed Edward simple stuff, mostly things with technology. But I also showed him some books of my favorite authors. He was fascinated by them. He told me that the only books he has ever read have been magic books his father and Stephen had given him ever since he was young. He told me that mastering spells were not as easy as they sounded. As they appeared to be.

"I made a few catastrophes in the castle," he snickered. "Father got so mad at me, but he would give Stephen this _look_," he added, his laughter increasing as he remembered. "I tell you, Bella, even though I got afraid of my father when he got mad, seeing Stephen's face was _priceless_!" I laughed with him.

I could just imagine a young Edward trying to cast spells, testing his magic, and then getting in a complete magical mess. I could imagine him trying not laugh when his father gave Stephen the look he says he gave him. I could imagine his bright smile and his bronze hair and his haunting eyes. I wonder if his eyes have always been like that…

"We don't have anything like _this_ back home," Edward said as I looked through my ipod, showing him some songs. And I wondered yet again if Maldecido was like ancient eras.

"I like this song," Edward said, smiling as he looked at the ipod screen. The song that was playing was _'Fall for you' _by _Secondhand Serenade_. I nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Yeah, me too. It's my favorite song at the moment," I said. He moved closer to me slowly, leaning himself slightly to me, so he could see the screen of the small ipod better. I tried to ignore the fact that he was so close, I tried to ignore my rosy cheeks, and above all, I tried to ignore his hot breath on my skin.

"Do you play any instruments?" he asked me.

"I played the Piano when I was younger, but not anymore." I told him.

"What happened?"

"I didn't have the time to dedicate myself fully to the Piano," I explained sadly. "Though I do miss playing it. It was sorta my escape from reality. I just sat down on the piano bench and played a song, and I instantly transported to my own little world. Just me and my music. Me and my piano. Nothing more."

"Will you teach me how to play? If you still remember to play it, of course." he wondered. I looked at him. "I've always liked the Piano,"

"And what stopped you to learn it?" I asked him.

"My father." When he answered, he looked down at the ipod and took it from my hands. His voice sounded harsh when he mentioned his father, and something told me that I shouldn't ask why.

"Will you teach me?" he asked again.

"Sure," I said. "But we need a Piano first," I laughed, trying to ease the sudden uncomfortable atmosphere that had formed when he mentioned his father. It worked, he laughed with me.

"What kind of music do you listen to in Maldecido?" I asked him as a familiar piano song named _'Lacie' _played through the earbuds.

I remember that I used to play this song on the piano years ago. I smiled, remembering when I played it. I had heard that song in an anime called _Pandora Hearts_. I got so obsessed with it that I had to learn it. And when I did learned it, I remember feeling so pleased with myself and happy and proud.

Edward shrugged. He set the ipod between his legs and rested his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes.

_Too close, too close!_

"In Maldecido we mostly listen to instrumentals. String instruments - such as the Cello, the Violin, the Violotta, and the Vielle - are very famous in Maldecido." he explained. "My favorite is the duet between a Piano and the Violin. My mother plays the violin, and uncle Luke, my father's brother, played the piano. They used to play songs together." He smiled brightly, as if he was remembering memories of his own.

_Used to_?

"Did something happen to him, to your uncle Luke?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He was killed during a war there was against vampires twelve years ago." Edward said. Chills ran through my body, and I regretted ever asking him, seeing the look on his face. "A nasty war, that was. I remember it. All the fire, the deaths, the blood, all the corpse that were lying on the street…" Edward shivered, and I had to resist myself from resting my hand on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, they looked far away. "It wasn't pretty, hearing the blood curling screams and pleas from the people as my mother took me away from there."

"You don't have to talk about it," I said quickly, looking at the face he was making. But he ignored me.

He pulled away and looked at me. "I always try not to think about it," he confessed. "I saw when uncle Luke was killed. He was ripped in half by a vampire, and I saw how the vampire ate his insides, how that…_monster_ drank his blood. My mother, running from the vampires that were following us, tried to hide that scene from me by covering my eyes, but it was too late. I saw it. The vampires couldn't hurt us, though. There was a shield protecting us from the vampires. An invisible shield that had drained half of my father's power to cast around us. To protect us."

Happy moments, I thought, and this horrible ones have happened to him. A little boy, a witness of such violence… I imagined Edward as a child, running with his mother from vampires with his small hand clasped in hers. Running through corpses and fire and blood and death. Seeing his love ones getting hurt and risking their lives to fight with vampires.

Edward looked blank.

"We couldn't Portaled from Maldecido, in case you are wondering." Edward said. "The vampires would only follow us and kill us. My mother, being the queen and me being the next heir to the throne, we were prizes to them. We would be their greatest kills, along with my father, the king. Also, if we had Portaled, the next world, whichever world we could've landed on, was going to get involved in a war between vampires and my people."

"But what about guards? Didn't they protect your mother and you, knowing you're part of the Royal family?"

"Everyone, _including_ the Royal Family, were in the war. Everyone was fighting to protect their rightful places. That's why my father had shield us, knowing that nobody could protect us. I mean my mother could have used her powers -she's a very powerful sorceress- but there were too many vampires. And that would have held us back. And who knows, maybe if my mother had fought them, we would've been slaughtered like others."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, feeling my chest tightened at this tale. _But vampires_? In my mind I was hysterical. Vampires _exist_! What other creatures exist!

He looked down at his hands. "Vampire and my people have never really gotten along. It's been like this since ancient times. The vampires, they said that they are treated by everyone like they were nothing. Just because they're soulless bodies walking on the earth, feeding off living things. They say that we all should be equals. The werewolves, shape shifters, demons… They all agree with the vampires." Edward said. "They say that they are all treated like _nothing_."

"Is that true?"

"They have their place, and we have ours in this world." he said simply. "And not just in mine, Bella, I mean in yours too."

"Mine?" I asked, shocked.

"They're here, Bella. Werewolves, faeries, vampires, witches… You just don't see them. You just don't realize they're there." Edward took a deep breath and added, "We have laws, and they know they must follow it. That's why your world doesn't know of their, nor other creatures, existence."

"Do you think that there will be war again?"

"I know there will be," he said without hesitating, or without giving it thought. "My father knows it too. Even though we won the last one. But vampires are persistent creatures. They want to be the _rulers_ of Maldecido. That's all they've wanted."

"But didn't you say that they just wanted to be treated as same as every other creature?" I asked him.

Edward looked at me, and the look he had on his face made me think that I wasn't getting any of this. That I really didn't understand at all.

"Do you _think _that they've been fighting with us, the _rulers_ of Maldecido, for so long, and also wanting to take down the Royal family _just to be equals_?"At my silence, he added, "To know what the enemy is planning, you must think like an enemy,"

"Your father told you that." I said as a fact. Even though I have never met his father, he sounded like one to say that.

Edward smiled, but he still looked far away, like while he was telling me all this, he was reliving it. Images of that night, of that war, coming to his mind. "He did," he said. "He's the one that taught me that."

"But there's something that I don't understand," I let him know. "If werewolves and demons and all, agree with the vampires, why are the vampires your only enemy? Wouldn't that make the others enemies, too?"

"Well, the vampires are the only ones that have gotten the courage to attack us. Whatever, _whoever_, attacks Maldecido, is a traitor and an enemy."

"Jasper's an enemy, too, then, even though he's part of the Royal family. I mean he's betraying your parents, he's trying to kill you so he and his brother can be the next rulers of Maldecido. It's kind of what the vampires are doing. Only that this is like a silent war. Nobody knows about this except Stephen, them, you, and me." I noted.

"You're very smart," The side of his lips twitch into a smile.

"That's why you don't want to tell your parents, too, right? Because even though Jasper is acting so cruel to you, you still won't give him in. Because you love him like a brother, even though he doesn't deserve it." I said. I watched Edward closely, taking in his reaction. If this was true, I understood everything. He wants to stop Jasper, not kill him. He's risking himself by doing this, but he…

"You're the only person that has ever done that before," he told me.

"Done what?"

He smiled again. "Know exactly what I'm thinking."

Even though this horrible tale had made my skin crawl, I managed to smile.

Edward's smile left his face, and he looked serious. Something flashed through his eyes, but disappeared before I could identify what it had been. "You know that my world _hates _your world."

My smile vanished. "W-what?" my voice cracked.

Edward let out a sigh of disbelief, like he couldn't believe it himself. "Because my ancestor, Lucifer, did something reckless here. Something forbidden."

"What happened?" I asked him quickly. I felt my hands begin to shake in anticipation of what I would find out.

Edward's world must have a reason as to why they hate mine. In the past, did they have an encounter?

"It is also forbidden to talk about your world in Maldecido," Edward said. "And to _travel_ to your world. If my father knew I was here he would have my head."

"But if you hate my world, then why did Stephen bring you here? What happened, anyway? What did Lucifer do? "

"Stephen brought me here because, since this world is forbidden to enter, he thought that no one in Maldecido would think of coming here to find me. And by someone you know I mean Jasper… Or Alistair." he said. Then he sighed and added, "But he was clearly wrong. Like you said: The forbidden things are the most tempting."

When Edward said that everyone in Maldecido hated my world, it felt like an arrow pierced my heart. I spoke slowly, lowly, "Do _you_ hate my world?"

He shook his head. "I never have," he confessed. I could see he wasn't lying, for his eyes looked sincere. "What my ancestor did wasn't reckless at all. In fact, I _admire_ him for it."

"_What did he do_?"

He shifted on the couch. "That's a tale for another time, Bella. It's a lot to take in. I mean you already know _half_ of what's been going on between vampire and my people. You still don't know the whole story, and it's a very long and difficult one." Edward took the ipod from between his legs and began to search through it.

I wanted to know what had happened. I wanted to know what Lucifer did here. What did he do that made everyone in Maldecido hate my world? But the way Edward said that he'll tell me later was in a 'Let's drop this' kind of way. "Promise you'll tell me later. _All of it_. Because if you haven't noticed, it involves _me_ by involving _my world_. So I have a right to know, right?"

"I promise."

**-0o0o0o0- **

That night, as we sat on the stairs of the porch, Edward told me stuff about _him_.

He told me that the Royal family lived longer than most people from Maldecido. "It must be something in our blood," he said, and shrugged, not really knowing. I wonder how old Edward's parents are?

I also asked Edward about his servant and guardian, Stephen. Edward told me that Stephen was 10 years older than him, and he arrived at the castle when the new prince (Edward) was born.

"'Stephen belongs to you, Edward,' my mother told me one day, since he only tends to my needs." Edward told me. "Although I don't see us as 'Master and Servant," he confessed. He cocked his head to the side. "Stephen is like an older brother to me. That's why for me, his opinion on something counts more than anyone else's."

Edward also told me that even though everyone in Maldecido respects him, he was also judge harshly for his actions. He said that when he was a teenager, he often got punished by all the 'reckless' - as his father would say - things he did. Edward knew that he had responsibilities, and he understood that since he was the heir to the throne, he had _bigger_ responsibilities and people expected a lot from him, but he couldn't take that pressure with just fifteen years.

He hated to be judged and put through punishments by his father, just because he was with his friends and having a nice time. How could his father be so heartless? Edward was still only a child! A child that was experimenting new things, meeting new people, enjoying his teenage years-the best years of someone's _life_.

Why would he be judged because of _that_?

Edward told me that that was one of the reasons as to why he sometimes left the kingdom for months. He told me that he sometimes wanted to be alone and escape from everyone, everything. So he would escape through a special portal to a place that only _he_ knew where it was.

He told me that that place was heaven for him. So wide, so peaceful, so beautiful; he felt so _free_.

"There's a wooden house that I build there," he explained. "And the water is so clear and the flowers are always in bloom."

Every time he mentioned it, his eyes shined and his grin went wider. I found myself smiling. "I'm going to take you one day," He looked at me and smiled like a little kid. "It will be our little secret."

I felt happy and flattered that he would share that magnificent place of which he speaks of with _me_ - an ordinary girl that's not even from his _world_.

"You'll like it very much, I'm positive." he smiled. "There's even a little waterfall nearby."

"I'm flattered that you want to share that place with me," I said, and smiled widely. _But why do you?_

He smiled and closed his eyes. And I knew he was remembering that wonderful place as soon he closed his eyes.


	8. I'm still inexperienced

**A/N: **I AM BACK! With another intersting chapter. This one is really for fun. My pervy side wrote this... Um... So... rated - M. I know you will all love Edward and his adorableness! Haaha I sure have. Anyway, what happeneds in the music room... It's based on my own personal experience XD Hope you enjoy this fun chapter.

* * *

**In Love With a Wolf**

**Chapter 8 - I'm still inexperienced**

**Bella's POV**

The next day at school, as Alex and I were walking to third period, Alexander cornered me. "What the hell is going on with you?" he asked me loudly. I noticed a couple of people that were passing by us stare.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not fully understanding him. Alexander scoffed, his eyes turning dark.

"Bella," he warned me, resting his hand on his hip. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell is going on? I mean you've been zoning out on us, you've been disappearing at lunch hour, you've been _irresponsible_ with school work, you've been-!" Alex cut himself off, and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. His voice got softer when he spoke again. "I know something's not right; I know something is bothering you - something big. You're not like this."

Like always, Alexander finds out about everything. Even if I don't tell him something's wrong, he just… figures it out. Even if I try to _hide it_. Maybe this is why I could never keep a secret from him. Back then, I would give in and tell him. But not now. I can't tell him about what's going right now with Edward.

I tried to shrug it off. "Everything's fine-"

"—No, Bella!" I jumped at his tone. When he noticed that people were staring at us, he leaned closer, hissing softly, "I know that what that guy did affected you, and I know he must be involve in what's going on. You didn't even tell me who he _was_!"

I leaned against the lockers, not breaking eye contact, and taking a deep breath. I didn't say anything because I didn't know _what_ to say. I didn't want to lie to him, but I couldn't tell him the truth either. I don't want to get him involve.

"So there is something going on." he said dryly when I didn't answer. "And that guy is involved, too." At my silence, he scoffed again, leaning back. "I wonder when was the last time you told me everything."

"Alexander… sometimes it's best not to know everything." I said.

"When it involves you, I have to." he said seriously. I noticed that his muscles loosened up. "You're like a sister to me; I need to protect you. Especially if it involves a guy like _him_!"

"He's not bad-!" When I realized what I said, I stopped myself. Alexander's eyes widened at what I said.

"So he _is_ involved. And what he did to you, acting like he had, is not bad?"

I suddenly got defensive. "Oh, like you're one to talk!" I said loudly. "What about Adrien? He used to force you sometimes to do stuff you didn't want to do! But do _you_ think he's bad? No, you don't."

As soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted them. Because I know that I was only using Adrien as an excuse, and because I know that those words were going to hurt my best friend. But I didn't take them back. He needed to see! He needed to see that Edward wasn't bad at all.

As expected, Alexander looked taken aback. I saw how his brows furrowed, how his mouth twisting up as his anger rose. "Don't try to change the subject!"

"It's the same thing-!"

"_It's not_!" he nearly shouted. He was angry now. "The difference is that that guy can be _violent_."

"He's not like that! He just got _jealous_! That- He's sweet and funny, and brave - even if he says that he's a coward. And when I'm in trouble, he always comes and protects me. He trusts in me and he believes in me. I feel nervous when he's close to me, but not in a bad way, a good way - a strange way…" I trailed off. "I don't know a lot about him, but I want to know more."

"It seems to me that you are in love with him," Alexander retorted. "By the way you are talking about him."

A made a face. "I am just telling you that he is not bad. He has never done anything like that to me again, and I know he won't. He just… He just got blinded by his emotions, that happens."

"Yeah," he scoffed softly, looking off to the side. "Shit happens…" His eyes looked distant. I guess that he was thinking over what I said. Minutes later, he looked back at me. "Just don't do anything stupid, will ya? "

"I won't,"

Alexander still looked serious, and that made me uneasy. "Who is he anyway?"

"He's a friend."

"He's just a friend?"

"Just a friend,"

Alexander's brows furrowed. "Why did you use such a weird tone just now?"

I made a face. "Did I?"

He turned around unexpectedly, and began to walk away. "Later, Bella,"

-**0o0o0o0- **

I got a glare and a warning from the teacher for being five minutes late. And as my eyes trailed to Alex, I knew he had gotten the warning too. During the whole class, I was looking for ways to talk to Alex about our previous argument. I felt very uneasy as I recalled what I said to him about Adrien. Even though I had told myself that I wasn't going to take the words back, because he needed to see that Edward wasn't a bad guy. But what is this uneasiness?

But Alex wasn't even looking at me, and I knew that he was angry at me. After class, as I was gathering my things as quickly as I could to catch up to Alexander, I noticed that Adrien had come in the classroom and took him away. I was about to go after them, but Derek stopped me.

"Hey, B, can you lend me your notebook?" he asked me, rubbing his eyes. "I wasn't in the mood of taking notes. Hell, I haven't been sleeping very well."

"That's what you get for playing _Halo Reach_ until early morning every night. You are too addictive to that game." I told him.

"Oh, come on, B, you're saying that as if it's a _bad_ thing!" Derek grinned.

"It _is_ bad for you," I said. "it's not good for you to stay up so late _every night_."

"Yeah, yeah," He shrugged it off. I handed him the notebook as I narrowed my eyes at him playfully. "Thanks, _mom_,"

I stuck out my tongue at him when he started laughing, heading out of the classroom with Melissa, a girl that has had a crush on him since last year. This is the first time I've seen them together, I thought.

After heading out of class, I quickly went to the lunch room to see if I saw Alexander or Adrien there. I didn't.

"The music room," I recalled, heading back to the hallway. "He's sometimes there during our breaks."

I walked quickly, suddenly feeling nervous. I've never like it when someone's mad at me, it has always made me feel uneasy. And even though I had said that I wasn't going to apologize, I was.

I entered the music room calling his name, but he wasn't there. Nobody was. I jumped when the door closed behind me.

"Are you sure that nobody is in there?" a girl asked worriedly outside. I recognized that girlie voice anywhere. Melissa.

"Don't worry, babe, Mr. Brown is in the lunchroom. Besides, the music room is always empty during lunch hour," _Derek_!

My eyes widened as I realized that this must mean that they… they…!

"I don't know… What if someone catches us?" she asked.

"The door has a lock, no?"

_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!_ Don't tell me they're going to… "Vamos, chiquita," he purred. _Oh, yeah, Derek, using Spanish to get the girl. _I couldn't help but roll my eyes_._ I heard her giggle, and then Derek laughed. I guess she nodded. "That's my girl,"

My eyes widened as I heard Derek say that there was nothing to worry about, and I saw the doorknob twist. I quickly ran to the desk that was on the far wall and jumped over it (which caused me to hit my head with the chair) and quickly hid under it. I was worried that my heart would echo in the room. I covered my mouth as my breathing was getting uncontrollable.

I heard Melissa giggle as they entered and then the 'click' of the door as it was shut, and then the sound of the lock. Shit.

I should've just let them see me and make up an excuse and leave. But no. I had the stupid idea of hiding.

"The desk," Derek said huskily. At that, my mouth went like an 'O' form. I heard 'thumb' when someone sat on the desk. Then I heard the sound of zipper lowering. My heart started to beat faster and my face flushed. I can't believe that Derek and Melissa are going to…

"Ahh… Yeah, right there," Derek moaned. My eyes widened. "Use your tongue at the point a little. Yeah, right-_ahh_…!"

Melissa is sucking his dick? This is wrong, I shouldn't be here! "God this feels awesome, Mel,"

I heard noises as Melissa sucked Derek, and heard his moans. After a few minutes of hearing Derek's moans and Melissa's sucking, I heard Derek say, "Want me to come in your mouth, Mel?" he asked, his voice husky. "I'm coming…" I heard Derek grunt and Melissa moan.

"You were wonderful," he panted. "You got me sweating here." She giggled. "Now's your turn."

_What?_

"What time is it?" she asked.

"We still have 25 minutes until the bell rings." There was silence, and then Derek chuckled darkly, "You're such a bad girl, Mel. I never would've guessed." I assume that Derek got off the desk and Melissa took his spot on it, because Derek said, "Open those pretty legs of yours,"

"Derek…" Melissa moaned.

"You're so wet," Derek chuckled. In an annoyed tone, he added, "Shit,"

"What's wrong?" Melissa asked breathlessly.

"Hold on, Jessica's calling me." Derek told her. He cleared his throat before answering the phone. "Hey Jess," There was silence. "Seriously? Ugh! Can't you get someone else to do it?" Another silence. I wonder what Jessica was telling him to do… "Alright, alright, quit yapping, I'll be right there."

"Where are you going?" Melissa's voice was a bit strange.

"Sorry, doll face, but I have to go look for someone, or else Jessica is going to have my head." he said. Melissa got off the desk.

"My legs are a little weak," she giggled. Derek chuckled. "Hey… call me later and we'll continue?" She sounded hopeful.

"Sure, babe, I'm taking a quiet liking to you." A could feel a smile as Derek spoke. I almost rolled my eyes. Of course he must like her. Melissa's like a cup D and she has a huge bottom. It's so typical for Derek to go after girls like that.

After they left, one thought ran through my mind as I hurried out of that room, feeling my cheeks red, I might add: _I will never see Derek and Melissa the same way I used to ever again._

**-0o0o0o-**

"Hey, B, what's wrong?" a voice came from behind me, and a hand appeared on my shoulder. I jumped, startled, and glanced behind me. It was Derek.

"Derek!" I said a little too loudly, in shock. I glanced at the hand that was on my shoulder and couldn't help but think: _He touched Melissa down low with that hand_. His eyes widened at my sudden outburst and he pulled his hand back.

"Whoa, what's up, B? What's with that facial expression?"

I tried to shrug it off by laughing. "N-nothing! You just startled me."

"Alright…?" he laughed awkwardly. "Listen, why are you out here alone at this hour? Aren't you the one who always leaves first when the last bell rings?"

I was currently waiting in the parking lot, beside my truck, for Alexander. It had been a half hour since school ended, and here I am…

Alexander usually stays after school because he helps with some school activities, but the school activity community already left five minutes ago or so, and Alexander still hasn't come out from the gym, which is where they usually meet.

"Yeah, I'm actually waiting for Alex." I informed my friend.

"Alex?" he sounded surprised. "Dude, Alex left before last period."

"No way! Ugh!" I hated not having all the classes with my friends, specially Alexander. How am I going to apologize now? I want to do it in person not over the phone or over an email.

Derek looked alert. He got closer to me and rested his hands on my shoulders. I guess it was my facial expression. "What's wrong, B?" Derek spoke softly.

"I need to talk to him. Derek, I think I hurt his feelings this morning. I mean I tried to look for him during breaks, but I never saw him."

"Stop by his house then, I'm sure he's there." he suggested. I could see that Derek, although not knowing what had happened, was concern and wanted to help me out. Hell, I'm sure that if I tell him that I didn't have my truck and I wanted to go to Alex's house, he would say that he could take me without a second thought.

But I wouldn't go to his house because maybe Adrien is there. He's half the time at Alexander's house, or if not Alexander's at _his_ house.

"No, I'll just talk to him tomorrow, I guess." I said, but I could feel my eyes casting down even though I wanted to look okay.

"Hey, Bella, you know that it's best to just apologize to someone as soon as you realized your mistake. It will be better for you to go to his house and get this over with, because if you say that you think you hurt his feelings, then you shouldn't wait to apologize. Moreover, he's your best friend; you don't want to lose him, right?"

I nodded slowly, sinking in his words. "No, I don't." I whispered. "I will never forgive myself if I lose Alexander."

"Well go to his house, then, and fix everything up between you two. I don't wanna see my friends fighting," He send me a wink and gave me his famous smile - the smile that captures so many hearts.

"Thanks Derek," I smiled at him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around my small body and rested his chin on the crown of my head. Derek's scent was strange, but he smelled nice. It was like a mixture with wood and something else. I couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was though.

"Anytime, kitten." he whispered and squeezed me before letting me go.

"By the way, what are _you_ doing here?" I asked him, smiling.

"I'm waiting for someone," he smirked. I opened my mouth to say something, but he spoke first. "Off you go, miss Swan," He opened the door to my truck and took the keys from my hands before I could register anything. He turned on the engine. "Go apologize to Alexander already."

"You're so rude," I said as I got in the truck. "You're practically kicking me out of the school." He just winked, said his goodbye, and ran back to the building.

-**0o0o0-**

I had driven to Alexander's house, but his older sister, Karla, told me that he was in a doctor's appointment and wouldn't be back in a while. So I drove home with a sigh of defeat and my stomach tied in knots. Fuck it. I'll have to call him later.

I walked silently inside my house, and the first thing I notice were voices coming from the kitchen. It was Edward and Stephen.

"I do not understand you, Edward. At all. Why stay here?" That captured my interest. I decided to do the rudest thing: eavesdrop. I walked as silently as I could through the living room and leaned quietly against the wall beside the kitchen entrance.

"You just don't get me." Edward replied in a whisper.

"Who would? My prince, you say that you want to stay in this world longer - if your _father _finds out that you are here instead of doing your duties as the future king, he will have both of our heads - and protect this… this girl that isn't suppose to matter anymore because she did not break the curse -"

"She did something to me, Stephen," Edward cut him off. They were talking about me? "She may have not broken the curse, Stephen, but… but she just helps me somehow. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, but I just feel like I _need_ her. I don't know… I just want to stay a while longer, Stephen."

Edward's words touched my heart. I could feel the muscles on my face soften and I could feel my lips turning into a huge smile.

I never knew I had that effect on him.

"It's not safe letting you stay here, Edward. Especially if you feel like you _need_ her. We can't let… we can't let love bloom between the two of you, you know that." Stephen's tone of voice had gotten very gentle, like when you tell a child that one of his family members died.

"I know," Edward replied just as low. "Regardless, Stephen… I think that I like her_. Like _her like her." Stephen make a sound of disapproval, and Edward continued quickly. "She's just… _different_. She sees the world in a different way, and she's teaching me to do the same. She somehow knows how to seek inside me… I never thought I would meet someone like her. I need her, Stephen, I want to hold her close to me… I want her."

"I knew this was going to happen the moment she appeared." Stephen's voice was back to normal. "You have to leave. _Now_,"

"I won't leave, you know that I have to protect her, Jasper's tracking her now." Edward said quickly. When he spoke again, his voice sounded softer, sadder. "And don't worry, I'm not going to say anything to her. I have a feeling that I'm going to screw everything up if I let her know how I feel. Besides, she wouldn't want anything to do with me…"

* * *

**A/N:**

The music room scene.. Um, yeah. Like I said, that happened to me. XD Oh lord. I swear, I can still heard them... D'awwwww. Edward's so cute. :)) I love him. I wonder what will happen? *-*


	9. The Warning

**A/N: **I'M BACK! xD I took a loong break from writing, and I gotta say, I miss it ;_; So I'm back again! ;p And with so much stuff to do! Especially with this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight!

* * *

**In Love with a Wolf**

**Chapter 9 - The Warning**

**Bella's POV**

Stephen left after that. I sensed that this was a good time for me to announce my arrival, so I walked silently back to the front door, opened it, and shut it loudly. "I'm home!"

Edward's head peeked out from the kitchen. He smiled when he saw me. He looked alright, he looked like he never had such a heavy conversation with Stephen. And I'm sure that I would have never found out about all the problems they are facing, if I hadn't been eavesdropping.

I couldn't help but think that what Edward is going through was my fault. Edward's going to be in a lot of trouble because of _me_. He's giving his back on his duties for _my _sake, to protect me. Me, a girl that, as Stephen said, isn't suppose to matter to him because I'm not his beloved maiden. Yet… he prefers to stay here. I can't be that selfish.

_I need her, Stephen, I want to hold her close to me… I want her._

Why does my heart flutter as I recall his words?

"What is the matter?" Edward asked as I didn't move. I looked at him before shaking my head, letting out a weak laugh.

"Nothing, I just…" I bit my lip hard, feeling my chest tight as I said, "I think it's best if you go back to Maldecido."

He remained quiet for a few seconds, sinking in my words. "W-why…" He paused, and started again, his brows furrowing. "I can't leave,"

"Edward-"

"Bella, you know that you are now Jasper's target. I can't leave you here unprotected, you know that."

"Edward, I don't want you to get in trouble with your father because of me. I can't let you back out on your duties as the prince! And moreover, if anyone knew that you are here…" _God knows what will happen to you... _

"I'm not leaving, Bella," Edward had a very serious expression. There was something in his eyes that made me regret ever telling him to leave. "Jasper and Alistair have a plan, Bella, and I have to stop them. There's already innocent people involved. Innocent people that can get hurt, don't you get it? And you're one of them. I'm not going to wait until they do something that will make me regret it for the rest of my life."

"But how will you catch them if you're in Maldecido? You can't be watching me and looking for them at the same time."

"I have spells to track them down, remember? I just need time to put everything together. Don't worry about me, or about my world. Just worry about yourself."

"Okay," was the only response that I could think of saying.

**-0o0o0-**

I didn't eat that evening. I left Edward eating vegetable soup - which he liked, a lot - while I locked myself up in my room, calling my best friend to apologize.

"Yes?" Alexander sounded as if he just woke up from a deep slumber.

"Alex… it's me." I said stupidly, even though he must already know because of the caller ID and my voice. "Listen I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings or offended you or -"

"What are you talking about, Bella?"

I paused, thinking. "Didn't I-? Wait, I thought I hurt your feelings because of what I said this morning."

"Oh," he said. "It pissed me off, yeah." Alex let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I was just worried about you."

"I know you were." I groaned and shifted on the bed, feeling guilty. "I'm such a horrible friend. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Yeah you are," I gasped at his response, but he laughed. "I'm kidding. Hey, I'm going to leave you. You kinda woke me up."

"Oh, yeah, sure. See you tomorrow?" It was suppose to be a fact, but it came out as more of a question. Because I wanted to make sure we were okay, and he wasn't just saying this to get me off his back.

"Yeah. Bye." And then he hanged up.

But I couldn't help but think that he lied.

-**0o0o0o0-**

That night I had a nightmare. A nasty, horrifying nightmare. You know those nightmares that you run and run and yet you can't seem to run fast enough to get away from whatever it was that was following you? Then the creature or person that was following you gets you and does horrible things to you? Well my nightmare was _something_ like that. …It was worst.

The nightmare began with a cold night. I was outside waiting for Jessica to come and pick me up to go to the movies, but she never came. I decided to walk to the movie theater, I mean it wasn't far. But that had been a stupid idea. Why did I even do that?

There was this guy who came from behind me as I reached the movie theater, and dragged me behind a building. I screamed, but it seemed like the people that were nearby couldn't hear me, couldn't see me. The man had pulled me to a wall besides the building and started to lift up my skirt, laughing madly. When the man leaned back, a stray of light from the light streets came to the left side of his face. I couldn't help but widen my eyes in horror, more than they already were, when I realized who this man was.

It was Edward.

I think I screamed. A lot. And scratched and bit him and tried to get lose, but all the attempts I did seemed to make him laugh. Suddenly, when he leaned back again, and the light hit the side of his face again, it wasn't Edward whom I saw, it was Jasper now.

Then the oddest thing happened. Through all the tears and screams, someone came behind Jasper and shot him in the head. I screamed and my heart seemed to burst out of my chest as I heard the gunshot, and screamed when I felt Jasper's blood all over me.

When I looked up- my legs and whole form shaking- I realized that it was Alexander who had shot Jasper.

"Alexander…" I whispered in both relief and surprise. Alexander looked at me, and his eyes were the cruelest shade I have ever seen. It brought fear in me all over again. This was not the Alexander I knew.

"Stay away from him," His voice wasn't sweet and calm like it always is. It was deep and icy. "Or blood will be shed."

"Stay away from who?"

But he didn't respond, he lifted the gun and pointed it at me instead. But he didn't shoot. Or at least, he didn't have time to shoot. Suddenly, something was taking a hold of me from behind, something cold and had the texture of human skin. But I was against a brick wall! As I looked behind me, terrified as I was, I noticed that what was grabbing me, was in fact, human hands, coming out from the brick wall. The weren't the cream color of healthy looking skin; the skin color was a light blue, and had scars and wounds. They were cold as death.

30 seconds later, Alexander shot me.

I woke up screaming. I was freaked out, to say the least. I was even frightened to lean against the headrest of the bed because I thought that zombie-like arms were going to come out and grab me.

_Stay away from him, or blood will be shed._

What did he mean? What did he mean! That was no ordinary nightmare, it was more of a vision. What can happen if I don't stay away from someone. But who?

"Bella!" Edward burst into the room breathlessly; his hair wild, his eyes wide. "Why did you scream?"

I was still trying to catch my breathe, so I couldn't talk properly. I just shook my head and tried to smile, but he wasn't buying it. He came closer to me and sat on the edge of the bed, his brows furrowed as he watched me.

"Was it a nightmare?"

My bottom lip was quivering. After a few intakes of breath, I whispered: "It was h-horrible!"

"What was it about?"

"I-it was more of a vision. A warning that-that if I don't stay away-" I couldn't explain it properly because I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.

I know that Edward wanted to comfort me, but I think he didn't know how. He looked at me, as if asking for permission to touch me. To comfort me.

"Can…Can you stay with me tonight?" I asked him in a whisper.

Edward wasn't expecting me to say this. Then again, who would? His eyes widened, but he soon composed himself by nodded. I laid down on the bed again, and watched him go over to the other side of the bed and getting under the covers with me.

As he laid beside me, again, I saw him asking for permission with his eyes to touch me. I got close to me, wanting to feel his warmth. He slowly placed his hand in mine, and when he touched my skin, a wave of fire went through me. I wanted him to touch me somewhere else again. I wanted to feel his warmth, feel protected in his arms, feel loved…

I got a little closer to him.

"Can you hold me?" I asked him. And so he did. His strong arms came around me, and I gave in to him as I closed my eyes. There were no more nightmares, no more Jasper popping in my dreams or zombie arms wanting to get me. Or even Alexander, wanting to shot me. I slept peacefully in my prince's arms.


	10. Not Good Enough

**A/N: Like always, thank you so much for giving this story a chance!**

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Not Good Enough**

**Bella's POV**

* * *

When I woke up the next morning to get ready for school, I found myself in Edward's arms. To be truthful, I thought that he would leave in early morning back to Charlie's bedroom, but he didn't. I was glad.

His soft breath tickled my ear; the sound of his heart pounding resounds through my back; his body is warming mine… I really didn't want to get up, but I knew I had to. I had to go to school.

"Hmm…" he moaned when I slowly slipped away from his arms, trying my best not to wake him up. When he shifted on the bed, and his eyebrows furrowed, I stilled. _Please don't wake up, please don't wake up_… He moaned again, and cuddled in a ball, his slumber deepening. I let out a sigh of relief.

A little stray of light that came through the slightly parted window curtains hit him on the side of his face, and the look he had as he slept was very peaceful. He even looked younger. I wanted to touch his face, touch that crest that he had on his chest, I wanted to feel him-_really_ feel him-but I know it was impossible.

Our time together was running out.

_-_**0o0o0-**

The week passed by in a tense wave that felt like it was eating me alive little by little. The only good thing that has come out alright during these grey days, was that Edward and I have gotten closer.

My first problem, besides the ones that involved Maldecido, was that I've been having nightmares recently, so I tell Edward if he can sleep with me during the nights. He agrees. Every night, I fall asleep in his arms, and I feel so relaxed, so protected… I feel safe with him.

But some nights, after midnight, I get this horrible nightmares. And when I wake up, I find myself alone in bed. And the freaky thing is, I always find Edward walking inside my room, wide awake. He helps me get through the nights, at least. I haven't mention the vision I had to him, and he never asked again. Something tells me to stay quiet.

My next problem was that I've been having problems with Alexander lately. I feel like I'm losing him. I don't know what's going on. He's acting really weird, and he barely speaks to me anymore. He doesn't hang out with us; he only hangs out with Adrien and this girl named Sheila that's with him on three classes. I mean I know that they were friends since last year, but they suddenly became best friends in like… a day.

Even Adrien is worried about this sudden change. And I don't mean the way he is hanging out with this girl, I mean the way he is acting with _us_- his best friends. It's frustrating, to say the least, because I don't know if he's angry at me or something. I mean why won't he answer my texts or my phone calls? Why doesn't he speak to me like he did before he met that girl? What's going on?

This is where Edward comes in.

I've been crying a lot. And he's there to help me. To comfort me. Yesterday night I cried. Because of Alex.

And I'm not saying that he shouldn't make new friends, or that I'm jealous that he's suddenly hanging out with her every time and every break we have, but… but he shouldn't forget about his old friends. His best friends. He shouldn't forget about _me_.

After school that day, as I walked to my truck, I saw Alex get in Sheila's car, all happy and laughing, and then they drove away. He didn't even look at me.

Again, I felt that pain inside me that frustrated me to no end. I just wanted to go home and talk to Edward. _Be_ with Edward. He's the only one that understands me well right now. I've talked to the others, but they act as if they don't mind. It's like I'm the only one that wants Alex back.

I got home, and the first thing I did was tell Edward what had happened at school. He didn't ask anything, or said anything; he just hugged me and let me cry. Let me talk. I loved that about him. His only comfort was himself, not words that he may speak. I just buried my face on the crock of his neck and cried.

"Why is this happening?" I wondered against his skin. He began to rub circles on my back, his embrace getting tighter. "It all changed so fast that I…" I gulped a sob. "Why is he acting like this? Like he doesn't care about us anymore? This is not like him. We were the closest ones, like siblings. I don't understand, Edward. Neither does Adrien. He told me that Alexander is acting weird- he has noticed too. I don't know what to do anymore… I feel like everything's falling apart all of a sudden and I don't understand why."

I stayed in his arms for a while, just crying and asking him the same things. But I didn't expect an answer from him, and he knew that.

When I stopped crying, and calmed myself down, I pulled away and wiped my tears away. "I'm sorry,"

He caressed my cheek. "Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault. You told me that you two had a little scene the other week, and since then he has been acting weird, right?"

I nodded, and took a deep breath. "It's frustrating." I whimpered. "I mean he's my best friend, he's like my brother! And all of a sudden… changing like that…"

He pulled me for an embrace again and started to caress my hair. "Just cry, Bella," he whispered in my hair. "Just let it all out."

And so I did.

-**0o0o0o0-**

"I'm… I'm going to go take a bath," I announced softly as I got up from the couch. Edward nodded at me and said something as I walked to the stairs. Although I didn't understand what he said.

I took a hot shower. A long, hot shower. It must have been at least 40 minutes and I hadn't gotten out. I just let myself relax.

After I was done taking my shower, I realized that I didn't have any clothes in the bathroom. I forgot to bring them.

"Shit," I whispered as I looked at the closed bathroom door. I wrapped a towel around my body and rushed into my room as quickly as I could.

"Clothes, clothes, clothes," I chanted as I ran towards my dresser and looked through the drawers. I froze when I heard a voice.

"I must say, I have never been welcome by such an appearance as ours,"

I gritted my teeth and balled my hands in fists, ignoring the flush on my face as I turned around and found Jasper leaning against the wall that was beside the bedroom door. I felt the anger rise inside of me. "And who says that you're welcomed here?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "So, so stupid," He smiled. "But so entertaining,"

"What do you want?" I hissed. Edward was right. Jasper wouldn't just go on vacation, at least not now. There's something he wants. And it's in Forks.

"You know," he began, ignoring my question. "Alistair's goal is to rule Maldecido and send Edward to 'The Eternal Jail'. I liked that idea from the start, but now I think I have found another way to make him suffer," He walked to me and made an attempt to touch me, but I jerked back, glaring at him.

"Don't you dare touch me."

This only made him laugh. "Have you notice how Edward let's his guard down when he's with you?" He let out an amused chuckle, his icy eyes dancing. I remained quiet. "Yes… You _have_ noticed." His eyes turned darker, colder, and yet they looked amused. "You, my sweet, will be the one to destroy Edward. It's perfect."

The rage that I had bottled up exploded when Jasper said that. I pushed him with all my might. He didn't seem shock as he stumbled backwards. "I will _never_ help you destroy Edward. What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you want to do so many cruel things to him?"

His devil smile returned. "This is why I want you; such a bold personality," he said. "Why, you ask? I'm afraid that even with that pretty face you'll be able to get the reason out of me. But let me tell you, my princess, _it's to die for_,"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're pathetic."

The humor in Jasper's eyes vanished. "_I'm_ pathetic?" I saw a flash of pure hatred reflect in his eyes, and something in the back of my head was screaming to me: _Get back_! "_He_ is the pathetic one!"

"Bella?" I heard Edward call me from downstairs. Then I heard his footsteps as he began to come up the stairs.

That hatred, like his humor before, vanished in seconds. "Well, it seems that my fun has been cut short," Jasper said, turning to the wall. "I'll come back soon enough, so be ready."

"What are you talking about? What are you planning _to do_?" I asked loudly. My patience was running thin.

"Has your mother ever told you that you ask to many questions?" he mocked, pressing his palm firmly on the wall. His palm shone, and seconds later, a portal opened.

"Hey, don't go without answering me!" I walked to him, but stopped when he turned to me. The darkness was back in his cold eyes.

"Just tell him this: The next time I come here, I won't leave until his head is in my hands, and you standing loyally at my side."

Then he was gone.

"Bella!" Edward came rushing inside my room. "I thought I heard Jasper—"

"You did," I said emotionlessly. I didn't look at him. I just remained staring at the wall, sinking in Jasper's words.

_Have you notice how Edward let's his guard down when he's with you? _Jasper had said, _The next time I come here, I won't leave until his head is in my hands, and you standing loyally at my side._

"Bella," Edward touched my arm gently, and I jumped. Not because I was startled, but… but…

"Edward…" I whispered, looking at him now. He studied my face, his brows furrowing.

"What did he do to you?" His tone of voice deepened.

"You have to go. Y-you have to get far away from me-!" I backed away, my eyes wide. But Edward didn't look hurt or confused- it was as if he _knew_ why I was saying that.

"Whatever he said to you, Bella-"

"No!" I yelled. "He said that he's going to use me to _destroy _you!" Tears were forming in my eyes by now. "You have to get away from me. I-I won't forgive myself if you get hurt…"

He walked towards me as I began to have a panic attack, and rested his hands on my shoulders, staring deeply into my eyes. They were so serious.

"He won't do anything, he's just scaring you."

"No, you don't get it. He can _control_ me, Edward, like he controls Daniel. You can't promise anything because you don't know what will happen in the future!"

"I will sense it if he does control you," he said calmly. "You don't have to worry, everything's going to be okay."

"Please don't lie to me," I cried softly. I felt as if I was drowning. Everything was crumbling down without mercy. What's going on? "I'm scared," I confessed. "I'm so scared, Edward…"

"Nothing will happen, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

Edward said nothing.

-**0o0o0o0-**

"It seems that Alistair doesn't know that you have returned to your normal self, Edward, for he was, indeed, on vacation with a few females that were elected to be his future wife. He has already chosen, even." Stephen told us as he paced in front of us.

Stephen had woken up us bright and early this Saturday morning because he had important information about Alistair and Jasper.

Edward perked up at what Stephen just told us. "Alistair still doesn't know? But he must have, Stephen. I mean the curse wasn't broken but somehow I managed to return to my human self, he must have sensed it. Jasper said he sensed it."

What Edward was saying was true. If Alistair was the one that cursed Edward, even though the curse wasn't broken, he must have felt it when Edward returned to his normal self. I mean Jasper felt it, but he wasn't the one that cast that curse on Edward. …What if…? My brows furrowed at my own thoughts.

"Wait…"I said, looking at them. "If Alistair was the one that cursed Edward, shouldn't _he_ be the one that had that feeling that something was off when Edward returned back to normal? I mean how come Jasper felt it, and not _him_?"

Stephen's brows furrowed, taking in what I have told them.

"I think that Jasper is blaming it all on Alistair." I pointed. "Perhaps Alistair wasn't the one that cursed you. Perhaps it was _Jasper_."

"Impossible." Edward said. "Each person of the Royal Family has a special power. Alistair's power is to curse, therefore it can't be Jasper. Jasper's special power is to control people, as you already may know. And moreover, he wouldn't want Alistair as his enemy."

"But Alistair hasn't shown up," Stephen said. "Not once. And he was, indeed, on vacation."

Edward didn't say anything on the matter. He was thinking it all over.

"Maybe Alistair is using Jasper as a puppet, you know?" I threw in. Stephen and Edward looked at me. "Well think about it- if you get killed, Alistair would be King, right? It could look like he wanted to vanish you so that he could be King, and he would be a suspect. Jasper, on the other hand, would have his hands clean." I said.

"No one will suspect Alistair; he's like the perfect Prince." Edward said darkly. "And I'm sure that if my father could pick one of us to be the next King, he would surely pick Alistair. If not then Jasper. He wouldn't want _me_ to be the next King." There was an edge of anger in his voice, but also sadness. Disappointment.

_Did_ _your father reject you_?

"Why do you think that?" I wondered in a whisper, for only him to hear, resting my hand on his.

He just waved me off, on which I felt a jolt of disappointment and embarrassment. Stephen was too busy pacing around the living room to take notice of our whispering.

"For the time being, I will take in consideration what this girl has said," Stephen finally said, stopping a few feet away from us. I couldn't help but sigh heavily. Why can't he call me by my name? "There is a reason as to why Alistair hasn't taken action."

"Maybe it's an act." Edward said. His tone was normal again, but his eyes were not. "Maybe he's using Jasper to distract us and then when we least expect him, he shows up."

"That may be as well." Stephen said. "There are so many possibilities of why he is acting like this, that confuses us. One thing's for sure, Edward, you can't let your guard down. You must prepare yourself because we may not know when this will all turn upside down."

"More than it already is?" I wondered to myself, but Stephen heard me.

"This is only the beginning, little girl." Stephen said, his voice on edge. "There is a blood bath that will soon come, and we must be ready to face it."

**-0o0o0o**-

I was glad when Stephen left, because I wanted to talk to Edward. Ever since he mentioned his father, his eyes changed.

"I'm going to eat," Edward said as he walked to the kitchen, but I know that it was to escape the subject.

"Oh, no you don't." I said, hurrying up to him and taking him by his arm. "Tell me what's wrong, please."

He let out a deep sigh. "Why can't you just drop it, Bella?"

"I don't want to be like an ignorant child forever, Edward! I want to know what's going on with you. Please… I want to help you."

"My father doesn't like me, okay?"

"I'm sure that isn't true-" I said, shaking my head slowly.

"It is, Bella. Everything I do- it's like nothing's good enough for him." Edward nearly shouted "But when Alistair or Jasper do something, he just shines like a proud father. I'm like the fucked up kid in the family. I don't understand why. I always did everything that he told me to do; always wanted to make him proud, but nothing ever worked. I got tired when I turned fifteen. That's when he began to say that I was being an irresponsible child, that I wasn't the right person to be the next King, that he had been expecting more of his son; of his only son, and the next heir to the throne." He was reaching his breaking point each time he talked. "I'm not angry at him, I'm angry at _myself_. I wonder what is wrong with me? Why am I not good enough?"

At this, I saw tears leaving his eyes. I took Edward in an embrace. This time, it was his turn to cry.

"Nothing's wrong with you." He grasped my hair as he began to shake.

"I'm not good enough," he whispered. He backed away, staring straight into my eyes. "I'm not good enough."

Something in me told me that he wasn't talking about his father anymore. It was as if he was telling that too _me_-that he wasn't good enough for _me_.

"Yes, you are. You're-" _Everything to me._

Edward leaned forward slowly, as if to kiss me. I waiting for his lips; for his warmth. My heart started pounding hard in my chest, and all of a sudden I couldn't wait for his warm lips. I wanted to melt myself in him. I could feel his uneasy, warm breath-he was only a few centimeters away from my hungry lips. But then he pulled away, and wouldn't meet my eyes after turning away.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

And then he left.


	11. The New Student Is From?

**Chapter 11 - The New Student is from?**

**Bella's POV**

"Students, there is a new student today, so please make him feel welcomed." Our home room teacher said to us as she entered the classroom. She put on her glasses, which she had hanging on a silver necklace that was hanging around her neck, as she clapped her hands. Everybody perked up at the news. In came a blonde young man. He was elegant as he walked, a mischievous smile gracing his lips-and he was familiar. The girls around me got excited because he was a handsome guy, but my reaction was a little bit different. I'm pretty sure all color left my face.

"Please welcome Jasper Whitlock! Young man, would you like to say something to the class?" Mrs. Hall said to him. Jasper turned his eyes specifically to me, and I shuddered under his cold gaze.

"I'm sure I will have fun here." he said simply and looked at Mrs. Hall. "Can I seat where ever I please?"

Jasper seemed to hypnotized the teacher and the female students when he talked and smiled.

"Of course, of course,"

When Jasper passed besides me, he looked down on me from the corner of his eye and chuckled darkly. But I can't show fear, I implored myself. I balled my hands in fits and looked behind me and saw him sitting next to Jessica, who smiled at him. I glared at him, and when he met my eyes, he just smiled at me.

"Alright class, open your text book to page 89 and…" I couldn't concentrate on what Mrs. Hall was ordering us to do, I was only concentrating on Jasper. I was so aware of his presence, even though he was in the next row, two desks down from mine. What the hell is he doing _here_? I balled my hands in fists, feeling anger rise in me.

**-o-o-o-o**

"Hey, Bella!" Jessica called from behind me. I turned around and saw her running towards me.

"Hey," she repeated as she caught her breath, stropping in front of me. "So I was talking to Mike the other night, and guess what! He asked me out again. Can you believe it?"

"That's awesome!" Even though I was angry at Jasper, and nervous, this news actually made the whole day brighten. I was very happy for Jessica. I mean she has been after Mike for three years, and he's _finally_ responding to her.

Jessica spoke, but I tuned out her voice when I saw a familiar figure in the hallway. Alex. Besides him was Sheila and Adrien. Alex and Sheila were laughing about something, but Adrien wasn't. He looked like he wanted to get to class already. When Adrien met my gaze, he gave me a look that I knew too well: '_Help me'._

Alex, through all his laughter, looked forward and caught my eyes. He smiled at me hugely, and I think he spoke my name. I'm not sure if he spoke to me, because I think I was in some sort of trance. Everything seemed to move slowly.

Their voices, their laughter, the lockers opening and closing behind me, Jessica talking-I tuned out everything. Alex said something to Sheila, and for a moment, I saw her eyes darkened. Then he started going in my direction, and a part of me did a happy dance. But then Sheila grabbed him by arm, and pulled him away. Alex didn't look back. Adrien, left behind by his boyfriend, looked at me. And I saw how his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but also saw how angry lines appeared on is forehead.

"I don't know what the hell's going on with that girl. Seriously, there's something about her that freaks me out; I think it's her eyes. Or how she has this control over Alex." Adrien was clearly concerned. "Did you notice what she did-how her eyes got- when Alex told him he was going to you guys for a minute?"

Adrien saw that too, I thought. So it wasn't my imagination.

"Yeah," Jessica I heard Jessica say, her mind off Mike now. "What the hell is all that about? Since when did they become the best of friends?"

"You _just _noticed?" Adrien frowned and looked at her like she had two heads.

She flushed. "W-well I know they started to hang out all of a sudden, but _shit_…"

"I talked to him yesterday-told him what I was seeing- and he got pissed off at me." Adrien shook his head, scratching his head. "This sudden attitude, it's pissing me off." Adrien crossed his slender arms across his chest, cradling his book. Noticing I haven't spoken, he looked at me.

"Someone in there?" He hit me on the head with his book.

I moved my head to the side, dodging another hit. "Stop that,"

"Well you haven't said anything." he said. "And you would have been the first to comment."

"I'm just thinking over this whole situation." I said.

"I'm going to talk to him," Jessica said, in a very angry voice. "Who does that guy think he is? Just because he has a new friend it doesn't mean that he should act like an asshole with us. I mean yesterday I called him and he ignored my calls. I was going to let it go, because it's the first time, but damn it…" Adrien was agreeing with everything she said, and again I tuned out their voices. Not only because I was thinking about Alex-how he had answered me on the phone the night I called him to apologize-but also because of that dream I had.

_Stay away from him, or blood will be shed._

From whom? Jasper? Alexander? …Edward?

I didn't see Jasper at all through the breaks and during lunch. However, when school ended, and as I walked to my truck, I saw him. I saw him with Alex, Daniel and Sheila. I stopped, my eyes widened in horror. _Alex_… Now I know why Jasper's here. He wants to ruin me too. He's getting close to Alex now, my best friend. I wonder if Sheila is being controlled by Jasper like Daniel was.

_Daniel._

He's back. And something told me he was still being controlled by Jasper. I have to warn Alex. But will he believe me? If he does or not, I have to warn him about Jasper and Daniel. And I have to figure out if Sheila is being controlled by Jasper as well.

I have to start protecting the people I love.

-**0o0o0o-**

"He's at my school!" I said loudly as I entered my house. Edward and Stephen were playing chess in the living room.

"Who's at your school?" Edward asked me, not really looking at me. The chess board had his attention completely. Stephen just looked bored as he leaned back in the seat, watching Edward make a move. I walked to them quickly. "Jasper! He's at my school!"

Two heads snapped at me, eyes wide in horror. Edward got up quickly, walking to him. I'm guessing that the chess game was over.

"He's at your school?" he nearly shouted in fury.

"And Daniel's back. But that's not all. Alex, my best friend, is hanging out with him and Daniel and the other girl named Sheila-which I think is being possessed by Jasper. I'm afraid for him, Edward. He doesn't know what's going on, and maybe he's in danger."

Edward looked at Stephen, who was shaking his head at Edward as if he knew what Edward was thinking. I guess that, through their years together, they have this type of silent communication.

"But Stephen-"

"It's time to tell the king, Edward." Stephen said.

"I already told you," Edward said, his voice strong. "I'm going to do this _alone_."

"And look where this has gotten you!" I have never seen Stephen getting agitated, never heard him raise his voice like he was doing now. "Edward this is not the time to be stubborn or play Hero, this is serious. Innocent children are getting involved now, don't you understand? Lives are at stake!"

"I am not playing Hero! I'm the next heir to the throne, the future leader of Maldecido, I have to learn to deal with this situations." Edward said strongly.

Stephen took a deep breath, trying to be patient. He lowered his voice. "Edward, please listen to me-"

"Stephen I don't want you to get my father into this. I want to do this alone. I want to… I want to prove that I am strong enough to be the next king. I want to show my father that he was _wrong_." I looked at Edward. Even though he told me that he was going to stop trying to show his father everything he could do, he still is. _Oh, Edward… Seeing you like this breaks my heart._

Stephen remained quiet for a long moment, then he sighed. "If that is what you wish,"

"It is," Edward said. He, then, turned to me. "Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to get Alex away from them without letting him now about Maldecido."

"I - I was considering telling him about what's going on, because I thought that's the only way to get him see-"

"Absolutely not!" Stephen said. "No one from this world must know about Maldecido. You're the only one and it's because we thought you were someone you are not."-I felt a pang in my chest, like I had been stabbed- "If you want that friend of yours safe, then get him away from Jasper and the children who have fallen into his grasp. Find another way to get him safe."

"We'll find a way to make him see what is wrong _without_ telling him about Maldecido, trust me. At least we know what's happening with him, right?" Edward said to me.

I felt that pang in my heart again when Edward told me this. I knew that Maldecido was a place that normal people couldn't know of, but isn't this an emergency? I thought Edward would've understand that. I thought he would've taken my side. But I was wrong.

I sighed. "To tell you the truth, I would've liked it better if he were mad at me or something, not getting involved with someone like Jasper."

"I'm sorry that I got you involved in all of this," I heard Edward sigh.

I turned my back on him, not wanting to see his face. "I'm going to bed," I said emotionlessly. "I feel weird."

-**0o0o0-**

"—Well she said she was feeling weird earlier." I heard a male voice say-a very familiar voice. The voice got closer, clearer. Then I heard as someone set something on a table beside me. I smelled food.

"You don't have to worry, Sir," the voice continued. Edward. Who was he talking to? I don't hear another voice besides his. "I'm staying with her. And I've been helping her when she gets cut or bruised; I have a skilled tongue." His voice was getting irritated as he spoke. He let out a deep sigh and I know that he was trying to stay calm. I heard a faint yelling.

I opened one eye to find Edward with a face that told me that he was getting annoyed, holding the living room phone to his ear. His eyes suddenly reflected anger. "Watch how you speak to me, Mr. Swan, I'll have you know that—"

_My dad!_

"Give me the phone!" I quickly hissed as I launched at him. The sudden movements made my head spin suddenly.

Edward was still arguing with my father on how to 'address him'. "_Idiot_! He doesn't know that you're a prince therefore he will talk to you angrily if he thinks you're staying here! And what's with that 'I have a skilled tongue' comment? He's going to get the wrong idea!"

Edward still looked angry, but he handed me the phone with a heavy sigh. He sat on the bed, his cheek resting on his palm, his eyes on the floor. He was still angry.

"Dad?" I said weakly into the phone and cringed in anticipation.

"Isabella Marie Swan why is there a _boy _over while I'm gone? I'm very disappointed in you!" Dad was angry. He was yelling a lot of things, but I couldn't get what he was saying. He was talking too fast, too loud.

"Dad, please! Calm down it's not like that! I—I was just feeling sick and called a friend. It's nothing to be concern about." I explain.

"And what is that having a 'skilled tongue', Bella? I hope that boy isn't thinking—"

"—He's not like that, dad, please." I groaned.

After hearing a lecture from Charlie, and after I had lied so many times to him, he finally calmed down a little bit. He told me that the reason for his call was to tell me that he had to stay a while longer - I completely forgot that he was suppose to come by the end of the month- because his father's health had complications, and he didn't want to leave him alone.

"Yeah, yeah, of course, Dad," I said. "I hope he gets better soon. And Dad, please take care of yourself too. Sleep and eat."

"I am, I am," he promised.

I hung up the phone after I talked to Dad a while longer. And when I did, Edward quickly handed me a glass full with orange juice as I sat beside him on my bed. He had brought me a tray filled with food.

"Thanks," I murmured and drank the orange juice. This is when I realized that I was feeling so hot. As the juice went down my throat, I felt a wave of coldness in my mouth and stomach.

I looked at Edward after setting the glass of juice aside. "Edward…"

He sighed. "I know what you're going to say," he said. "But I can't help you, Bella. I wish I could, trust me. I wish I could tell Alexander what's going on and get him safe. But I can't do that. I can't break the Law."

I let out a heavy sigh. I'm so self-centered. I should've thought about the Laws of Maldecido. I mean I knew that if he could do tell Alex the truth, Edward would've done it already.

He handed me a plate with an rice omelet. I took a bite, and realized it was actually pretty good. But then something clicked. "How did you do this?" I didn't teach him how to make rice omelet.

He smiled guiltily. "I may have used the neighbor."

I stopped chewing and looked at him in disbelief. "You mean you controlled my next door neighbor so she would do a rice omelet?"

He nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Hell, Edward." I shook my head in disapproval. "You really are sneaky, aren't you?"

He laughed. "I do cheat sometimes, yes," he said. "Are you feeling better?" he wondered in his soft voice. Come to think of it, since I woke up in such a rush, I didn't even notice that I felt alright.

"Yeah," I smiled. He seemed relieved.

"Maybe so," he agreed with a nod. "This is suddenly too much. It's getting out of control."

I nodded in agreement. "My father is going to stay longer in California, his father got worse," I said. "It's good that he's staying longer, I don't want him to come home with all these things going on."


	12. Not Every Flower is Meant to Bloom

**A/N: Hi! Thanks for waiting and reading! Your support means a lot. ^-^**

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**Chapter 12 - Not Every Flower Is Meant to Bloom **

I was in the kitchen, cutting some vegetables for the soup I was going to make, when I felt Edward behind me. I could feel the warmth of his body, I could smell his perfume, and I could feel his breath on my skin. But above that, I could feel his body touching mine. And the contact sent sparks.

"Hey," he breathed in my ear. I shivered, not because his breath tickled me, or because his breath was unexpectedly cold, but because it sent an unexplainable feeling through my whole body. It made my heart pound in my chest loudly, having him so close.

"Don't breathe in my ear," I meant to say those words seriously, not wanting him to know how my body was responding, but the words came out as a plea.

"Bella," he breathed in my ear again. The same feeling rushed through me as quickly as water, making me very aware of him, of my heart pounding, and of his soft voice. I desired him like I have never before. I suddenly had the urge to turn around and kiss him. Touch him. But I didn't.

I tightened my hand on the knife, trying to control myself. "I'm serious, please stop," It came out as a moan.

"Why should I?" he whispered, pressing his body harder against mine. I had to bite my lip. My legs started to feel weak as I actually felt him. "I know you like this as much as I do."

I had to get away from him before I did something stupid.

"Stop joking," I said, and tried to move away, but his hands came around me.

"And you should stop resisting me," he breathed, once again, in my ear. "I can see it in your face; you like what I'm doing. And you like me, too. So why can't you say it? What's holding you back?"

"I-_we_ can't do this, Edward. We just can't… Don't you understand?" I felt tears build up in my eyes because _he didn't get it_.

"Just for tonight… Please…"

Edward trailed his hand down my apron until his fingers touched the hem of the summer dress I was wearing underneath it. His hand slid underneath it, and as his fingers explored my heated skin, my face flushed and my legs began to weaken. I gave myself to him. I melted in his arms.

"Edward!" I gasped when his hand slipped in my panties. In response, he made a low sound in his throat as he began to breathe in my neck, sending electrifying desires through my body. But as his fingers neared my clit, I realized that I was being touched for the very first time. I'm sure my flushed face was even redder now.

"Edward…" I moaned as he touched me; his fingers beginning to play with my clit. I started to breathe deeply, and sounds I never knew I could make were coming out of my mouth. I leaned my head against his shoulder as he teased me, letting go of the knife and reaching for his hair. My other free hand went to the hand that was teasing me, shoving his hand deeper in my panties so he could touch me more than he already was. "Ahh… Ahh-_mmm_…"

"Bella," he whispered, suddenly stilling his movements so I could get his full attention.

"What?" I said breathlessly, looking at him. Green eyes met my brown ones, and I could see the lust in his eyes.

"I want to come inside you," he whispered in a voice that made me melt instantly. Then his fingers left my wet core, and suddenly, he turned me to him and lifted my summer dress. I felt as his manhood just—

–I woke up in bed sweating and feeling my body absolutely hot. I looked around my bedroom, trying to focus my fuzzy eyes and my wild running mind. What the hell was that dream?

I was sitting on my bed as I tried to catch my breath and tried to calm my speeding heart, when I heard him shift on the bed beside me. I stilled, suddenly forgetting that he slept in the same bed as me now because of the horrifying nightmares I was having. Although I was thankful that tonight it wasn't a horrifying nightmare that had woke me up, but a pleasant dream. Wait… Did I just say that the dream had been pleasant?

"Bella?" Edward's sleepy voice startled me. I looked at him –his bronze hair a mess, his sleepy eyes trying to focus on my figure in the darkness, his body, laying on his tummy, stretched out, his thin lips parted –and couldn't help but remember that dream. I felt my cheeks hot.

"What's wrong?" he asked, perking up on his elbows. Through the darkness, I could make out the concern look he had on his face. "Did you have another nightmare?"

I began to stammer nonsense, not having my mind straight. I pressed my lips hard together, silencing myself.

_I know you like this as much as I do, _Edward had said in my dream.

I shook my head at the memory from my weird dream. "N-no, it wasn't." I managed to answer.

"Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously. "You're sweating, and I can hear you breathing like you just ran a mile."

_You should stop resisting me_. _I can see it in your face; you like what I'm doing. And you like me, too. So why can't you say it? What's holding you back?_

What's holding me back? You of all people should know…

"I-it's nothing, really. It was just a weird dream, it is all." I shrugged and lay back on my bed, turning my back towards him. "I'm sorry I woke you up,"

But Edward wasn't going to let this die, I knew that. Even though he won't ask me tonight, he will ask me eventually. I felt when he laid back on the bed too, and got closer to me. When I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but recall that dream, and yet again, I felt wonderful. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to even wake up. Does this mean I'm a pervert? That night, I dreamt that Prince Edward made love to me on the kitchen counter.

How romantic…

**-0o0o0o-**

"Well _do_ you like him?" Jessica challenged me. I told her about the dream I had last night about Edward… and myself. She'd widened her eyes and laughed when I told her, because I started to flush and get embarrassed.

"You're acting like a little kid when talking about sex, Bella!" Jessica had said as she laughed, leaning against her car.

"Oh, shut up!" I'd hissed, flushed. "I'm not experienced, okay?" She knew it.

"Do you?" she asked again at my silence.

"I think I do," I said. "But you don't understand, Jess, we're not suppose to fall in love with each other."

"Oooh," She smiled teasingly. "a forbidden romance, eh? That's cute." All humor aside, she said, "But why? His parents don't want him with you or something?"

I pressed my lips together hard. "Something like that."

"That sucks, Bells," came her sympathy. "But do you know why? I mean you're an awesome person, I don't know why they wouldn't accept you. They're stupid parents."

I laughed. "You think all parents are stupid."

"Well," she said. "I _am_ anti-parent, so I'm bound to get offended just by the sight or someone mentioning a parent."

"Anyway," I said, knowing we side tracked the situation. "I don't know how I feel about him. I try not to see him like that, that's for sure."

"Look, I know this is gonna sound like a cliché, but, whatever. Just listen to your heart, Bella, not your mind." Jessica said. "If he loves you, and you love him, then isn't that what matters?"

"That sounds nice," I said, smiling at the thought. But then I sighed, reality kicking in. "but unfortunately, this isn't a fairy tale, Jess."

She only looked at me.

Even if I do ever end up liking Edward, I thought, nothing can ever bloom.

**O-O-O**

"Hey, have you seen Alyson this morning?" Derek asked me as he sat on the desk next to mine.

I looked at him. "No. No, I haven't."

"Damn." he murmured, looking disappointed and annoyed as he searched for something in his book bag. I furrowed my brows.

"Why do you want her?" I wondered.

He shook his head. "I just wanted to show her something, but I'll guess it has to wait."

I was about to say something, but then familiar voices stopped me from doing so. I looked at the classroom door as I heard them. My fist clenched in anger towards Jasper, but my mind was screaming because I couldn't do anything to get Alex away from him. Get him _truly_ away from him.

"Ah, seriously? No way," Jasper laughed as he draped an arm over Alex's shoulder. Alex was laughing, and didn't seem to mind Jasper's action, but Adrien, loyally by his side, looked pissed off. Adrien took Alex's hand protectively, and pulled him to his side. Jasper had no other choice but to let go. He looked at Adrien and, although he had a small smile curling the side of his lips, his eyes were warning him.

"Alex! Come over here!" I heard Sheila's voice from the corner of the classroom. When Alex saw her, his eyes lit up and he grinned.

"Mrs. Baker, please lower your voice." Mr. Parker said as he wrote something on the board, his tone of voice irritated. Then again, Mr. Parker is always irritated.

Alex walked pass Derek and I, towards Sheila, and what pissed me off was how he didn't even acknowledge our presences.

"Hey babe," I heard him greet her happily.

"Meet me in the gym after school. We're going to run over some plans for a trip." I heard Sheila say.

"A trip?" Alex sounded rather confused.

"Yeah! It's going to be so much fun! So pass by, ya hear? Oh, Daniel is going as well, by the way."

"Alright,"

"Oh, and by the way, it's a secret, okay?" she giggled.

"Okay."

Why does this have Jasper written all over it? I have to tell Edward, I thought as I gritted my teeth. We have to find out what they're planning, not just for Alex's save, but to save everyone.


	13. Omen

**A/N**: Why, hello there! I'm terribly sorry for the delay, heheh. Vacation does things... Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for chcking my story out :)

I'm going to do something new from now on here. You can** ask me anything you want** from the story (or characters) on a review, and I'll answer your question here. :D

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**Chapter 13 - Omen**

**Bella's POV**

I had called Edward and told him what I heard, so he agreed that he'll meet up with me be my truck after school. When the last bell rung, I quickly packed my things and headed outside to see if I saw Edward. I did, and I noticed something different about him the moment my eyes landed on him.

His hair. His hair was different. It looked messier, but not only that, it looked like a mess of bronze, gold and brown.

When he saw me, he nodded and followed me as I hurried to the gym. We didn't speak on the way. Maybe it was the tension, or the concentration. All I know was that I wanted to get to the Gym fast. To my surprise, the Gym door were closed, and not only that, but the handles were chained.

"What?" I whispered, not fully understanding. "What the hell? They never do this."

"Step aside," Edward said seriously. I did so, looking at him as he took the chains in his hands, and ripped them apart with a single hand movement. The chains fell on the ground in tiny pieces. I gaped at him.

"Come," Edward said, opening the Gymnasium doors. I quickly followed him.

"Edward-" I started, but Edward quickly whirled around and clasped his hand over my mouth, hiding us beside the blue bleachers.

"Shh…" he whispered in my ear. His heartbeat resounding through my back relaxed me a little.

"I'm glad that all of you could come," I heard Jasper say. He was close. Very close.

"Okay, what's with this mysterious trip that nobody wanted to talk about in public?" It was Alex. The relaxation I felt before vanished in a second, now I was tense again.

"Well I was considering going on a little… trip soon. I can't say where we are going yet, because it will just spoil the surprise," Jasper let out a laugh; a dark, sarcastic laugh. "However, you three are the lucky people that were chosen to come with me. I promise that it will be enjoyable. I, for one, am going to have a _great_ time."

Alex is smart. There's no way he's going to agree without knowing the details. And how he's questioning about this trip is a clear sign that he is not being controlled by Jasper. At least, I thought in relief.

"What's with that laugh?" Alex asked. "Anyways, I'm not sure if I'll be attending."

"You _are _going to go, or else…" Daniel said. His voice was off. It was lifeless.

"Alexander, I'll drag you if you don't come!" Sheila said in a chirped voice. Then I heard her laughter. I felt my body tense up.

"Now, now, if he doesn't want to go, we can't make him," Jasper said.

I knew that he said that to not scare him off, because if Jasper really needs him, he'll do whatever it takes to get to him. Which suddenly makes me wonder, why isn't he controlling him like he's controlling the others?

"There is another party coming in our trip, right Jasper?" Sheila asked.

Jasper let out a laugh. "Yes, my little flower, there is another person that will be coming with us. She's going to be the important piece of the puzzle! Without her, this will be pointless."

My eyes widened in horror. Is Jasper talking about… about me?

"Who?" Alex asked.

"My lover," Jasper said, his tone of voice sounding much deeper than before. More… possessive.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a lover." Alex said.

Jasper ignored him. "Well, we'll be going then-"

"Wait, but you didn't exactly tell us anything-" Jasper cut Alex off.

"-I'm afraid that this isn't a safe place to speak like I had originally thought," Jasper said. "The walls have ears, little Alex. We'll discuss everything later. I will take my leave now."

I looked at Edward immediately. _Did he hear us_? I asked him with my eyes. _Did he know we were here_? Edward's lips turned into a thin line, and he nodded.

-0o0o0-

"W-what does this mean now?" I asked as we walked to my truck; Edward walking ahead of me in a quick pace.

"I'm thinking, Bella," he said. "He knew we were there, he let us a warning."

"A warning?"

"He let us know that he's going to use those kids for something, and that wherever they are going, he's taking _you_ with them."

"But that doesn't make sense! If he lets us know what's he going to do, then won't he know that you will stop him?" I shook my head. "Maybe this is a trap, Edward. Maybe this is something to distract us."

"I don't know." Edward said, slightly irritated. "Jasper's full of tricks, you never know what he's thinking, you never know what he's capable of. That's why we need to be on our guard. We need to try to figure out every possibility on what he's planning to do with those children." Edward looked at me over his shoulder. "And what you said is possible. Maybe this _is_ a trap."

"Or maybe he's going to use them against you as well."

Edward stopped walking and looked at me. "You think he's going to use them to kill me?"

I shook my head. "No, not to _kill_ you, remember that he wants _me_ to kill you" –every time I thought about it, I got cold – "Maybe he's going to use them to _hurt_ you, and then when you are weak enough… he'll use me."

He thought it over. "Jasper wouldn't want to get his hands dirty or to leave traces, in case someone from our world finds out about this."

"Edward…"

"You have nothing to fear," he said, sensing my uneasiness. I shook my head, staring deeply into his eyes.

I felt a rain drop fall on my cheek as it started to rain softly. Neither of us cared. We only stared into each other's eyes.

"I do not fear for _my _life!" I cried out. "I'm worried about _yours_!"

The fear I have creeping inside me is not for my well being, it's for _his_. _He's_ the one that is going to face his powerful cousins; _he's_ the one that has to save his world and protect me from Jasper as well; _he's_ the one that has to put his life in danger, over and over and over again. I'm not the one he should be worried about; it's _himself_.

Edward hugged me under the light rain, and the smell of apples instantly hit me. It was like coming home.

"Don't waste your time worrying about me," he said into my hair. "Do I seem that unreliable?"

"It's not that," I told him. "Jasper's powerful. He's going to use so much power against you, and-"

"We already talked about this; you don't have to worry. Just trust in me a little. Have faith in me."

I pulled away from his chest and looked at him. "I _do_ believe in you, Edward." I said sincerely. "And I'm going to do everything I can to protect you too, I promise."

_Even if it kills me. _

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**A/N:** Whoever reviews gets a juicy **spoiler** of _Chapter 14: The Storm_.


	14. Storm

**Hello everyone. I want to apologize to those that received the teaser so late. We've been having storms and hurricanes, and that equeals to no electricity for days. Things are still a little shaken up here, so, that is why I got delayed from sending everyting. **

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**Chapter 14 - Storm**

**Bella's POV**

Every time I heard a lightning strike, I shuddered. I hated lightning's with all my might. Every time one illuminated the sky with his bright light and harsh sound, all I could do was whimper. However, with Edward here, I tried my best to hide the fear I had for lightning. I tried.

When we got home, we ran to the house as quick as we could, not wanting to get so wet. But it was inevitable. The rain drops felt like bullets as they hit me on my back, and suddenly, trying to fight against the wind and rain, I felt very heavy and tired. But alas, we made it inside.

"I'm s-so damn c-cold," I shivered as Edward closed the door behind us. I could still hear the wind howling.

"Yeah," Edward agreed. "The weather got bad all of a sudden,"

I nodded in agreement. "C-come on," I said. "let's g-get dry before we catch a cold."

After giving Edward fresh clothes to wear, he hurried to Charlie's room. Drying my hair with a towel, I quickly hurried to my room. Once there, I took off my damp clothes and wrapped myself in the towel. I wanted to stay in the warmth the towel was giving me, but I reminded myself that I had important stuff to do. Edward and I needed to talk to Stephen about what Jasper was planning.

We need to figure out everything that's happening, and also plan something to stop Jasper. I also had to tell Stephen and Edward that I was going to tell Alex the truth. I know that Stephen will be against, but I can't let this go on. And hey, Alex will keep his mouth shut; he's trustworthy, and he can help us too. He can tell us a little about Daniel and Sheila, and what he has learned about Jasper.

Right now, the idea of telling Alex the truth was more welcoming.

I felt so much warmer as I put on my jacket and my knee-length Halloween socks. My hair was still wet, so I dried it a little with the hairdryer. Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside, which made me panic momentarily. I stared at my window for a few seconds - waiting for another 'boom'- before walking to it quickly.

Across the street, a tree fell on a car. The strong wind must have been the cause of it, I thought with sadness. What the hell was going on? What's with this weather? I didn't hear that there was going to be a storm in the news.

"Bella," Edward called, knocking on my closed door, "Stephen's here. We're going to be downstairs waiting for you so we can begin."

"Okay," I let him know, and stared at my bedroom door until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Then I looked outside again and took in my surroundings.

The sky was a _very_ dark grey, signaling that the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon. It looked as if it was night already, and it was only like 5 o'clock. The streets were already covered in water, and the trees looked as if they were going to go down in any second. It was also cold. Very, very cold.

Praying for those who were not in the safety of their homes, I turned off the light of my room and began to head downstairs, where Edward and Stephen were waiting for me in the living room.

"Hello, Stephen," I greeted respectfully. Stephen was not sitting on the couch next to Edward, he was pacing around the living room again, looking deep in thought. I guess that pacing helps him concentrate.

"Hello, miss," he greeted back, looking at me from the corner of his eye. I sat next to Edward and noticed that he had a jacket on too.

"I told Stephen what we heard in the gym before you came down, I hope it's alright with you," Edward said to me lowly. I nodded, reassuring him.

"Jasper is confusing, to say the least - _unpredictable_!" Stephen suddenly said loudly. "He's making some sort of army now?"

"No, I don't think so." I said. Suddenly I felt like this was one of those Detective TV shows. "I think he's going to work with the ones he already has."

"What makes you sure that he's not going to use more children?" Stephen asked me.

His question made me think. I tilted my head to the side. "I don't think that he wants to catch attention."

"Catch attention from whom?"

"From everyone," I said. "He's planning a trip of some sort, and if he does take them somewhere, which I think it's Maldecido, imagine having more than 5 people, from _my world_, beside him. It would also catch attention from my world too. I mean, suddenly 5 people disappearing?" I shook my head. "Jasper can't be that stupid."

"She's right." Edward said. "Jasper isn't careless."

"-And we think we know why he wants them—to drain Edward's energy. Then, when Edward's weak, he's going to use me." I felt a jolt in my chest every time I thought that.

"He wants to use you to kill him." Stephen noted. I nodded. He sighed and looked at Edward. "What you say sounds likely; Jasper would do that, but maybe there's no trip at all. Maybe it's to distract you, and when you least expect it, he'll attack."

"That's what I was thinking," I said. "I mean why would he even take them to Maldecido?"

"_If_ that's where he will be taking them." Edward said.

"He's going to use this girl to kill you, you say." Stephen sighed, looking at Edward. "Edward you do realize that if he's thinking about controlling this girl as well, you are no longer safe here."

"I am fully aware of that, but just as I told her, I will sense it if he does anything to her." Edward said simply. "He won't get to her."

Stephen looked at me for a split of a second, then looked back at him. "What do you plan on doing to forbid him from casting a spell on her?"

"I'll cast a spell on her that will protect her from his magic. I'm sure I'll find something similar to that in one of the Great Magic Books."

"That may work," Stephen nodded.

When Edward shifted on the couch, his scent immediately came traveling through my nostrils. He smelled so good, a mixture of apples and the scent of a man. You would think that combination wouldn't smell right, but hell, it did. He smelled so good, and he was close enough that I could feel the warmth that came from him- even though it was kind of chilly because of the bizarre rain. I suddenly remembered back at school after we came out of the gym. The way he hugged me… I loved it when he hugged me. I felt so small and protected. I felt good with him. But what makes me sad is to think, to wonder, what will become of us when this is all over? Will he come back here to visit once in a while?

_But Charlie will be here_, I reminded myself.

"How many students does he have under his control?" I heard Stephen ask Edward.

I have to think of this for later, I told myself, right now, we have to deal with the problems that lie ahead. Then I'll figure out what am I going to do when it is time for Edward to leave. Because truthfully… I don't want him to leave. I want to get to know him better. …I like him.

I looked over at Edward as he spoke. _I like him_. …I'm falling for him.

He suddenly looked at me, and I took in a sharp breath, the color of his eyes impacted me.

His lips were moving, and that's when I realized he was talking to me.

"Huh?" I said stupidly.

"You get distracted so easily," he joked lightly, his lips curling upward to the side. "How many of your friends or students are getting close to Jasper?"

"Only Daniel, Sheila and Alex," I answered immediately.

He turned to Stephen. "He only has 3 under his grasp, although he's not _controlling_ one of them,"

"I think he's not going to control Alex because he's using him in order to get to me, I'm sure of that. He's using him as bate." I said.

Edward nodded. "That makes sense," he whispered, more to himself than to me.

"That's why I'm going to tell Alex what's going on." Stephen was about to argue, but I spoke first. "He's going to get hurt if I don't do something. He's not going to say anything about Maldecido; Alexander is trustworthy."

"It is not a matter of _trust_, it's-" Stephen said.

"Stephen," I heard Edward warn, but we both ignored him.

"-It _is_ a matter of trust," I nearly yelled. "I mean you guys trusted _me_."

"We didn't have a choice, as you may recall." Stephen was getting impatient. "It is _not_ a matter of trust, simply it is a _rule_ in Maldecido. People from your world are not allowed to know of our world's existence. Moreover, we cannot involve people from your world with ours; it is forbidden! The King and Queen, or anybody in Maldecido for that matter, cannot find out that _you_ know about our world, or that the prince - _the future king! _- was here. It will cause a great chaos."

I don't know why I said what I did next; I knew it was a mistake, but I couldn't stop myself from babbling it out. I was pretty sure I was going to get killed by Stephen, or Edward himself was going to get angry at me.

"You people hate my world because of something that Lucifer did _centuries _ago," I yelled. "People from my world are being punished for a crime we did _not _commit. If it _was_ a crime, what Lucifer had done. Because it seems that in Maldecido, you judge innocent people crudely!"

Stephen looked shocked for a moment, but then his eyes seemed to shine in a crimson fury. The words he spat at me next seemed to be filled with venom. "I've _had it _with you speaking about things you do not know - you do not understand! You are an ignorant girl that is ruining _everything_!"

He looked at Edward.

"_You! _You deliberately disobeyed your father and all of those in Maldecido. Speaking about Lucifer - that _traitor_!-, Edward. Especially with this girl that is _not_ from our world,"

Edward got angry, too_. Everyone, _in a matter of fact_, _was angry. But how couldn't we?

The wind outside seemed to howl in fury as well.

"What is that way of speaking to me?" Edward said coldly, standing up from the couch. "And it's _my _decision what I should say to this girl!"

"You know that you cannot go against the rules of the kingdom, the rules of Maldecido!"

"Well when I am King, that'll be the first thing to go," Edward said icily. He didn't look that pissed off anymore. He looked cold, mean.

"With an attitude like that, I'm sure you are going to be a pretty pathetic King indeed." Stephen said, just as cold.

My eyes widened in anger. "What the hell-?"

"'Bella," Edward stopped me, staring at Stephen. I looked at him. His eyes were lifeless. I think that comment really hurt him, even if he doesn't show the hurt. "I think you should take your leave, Stephen."

"You as well, Edward. You must head back. You know what day's tomorrow."

I looked at Edward confused. Was there going to be something in Maldecido? "I am fully aware of what day I am staring at, and what day will be tomorrow. However, I will not be going back anytime soon." Edward said.

"Backing away from your duties now, my Prince? From what is your future?" Stephen asked. Edward's jaw clenched. "This girl has done something wrong to you. She is the cause of all of this."

Edward was trying not to yell again. "_Goodbye_, Stephen."

"Very well, I will take my leave, however… I hope you realize the mistake you are committing before it's too late." Then, Stephen was gone.

* * *

**A/N: ** Next chapter: **Chapter 15: Lucifer**. You will know what the hell happened to Maldecido now XD Till next time~


	15. Lucifer

**A/N:** Gonna be updating very fast from now on. :3** HERE IT IS! WHAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! :3** AND WHY AM I WRITING ON CAPS?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight~!

**Chapter 15 - Lucifer**

**Bella's POV**

Is it possible to loath ourselves a whole hell of a lot once in a while?

Because right now, I hated myself more than words could say. It was all my fault. If I would have kept my big-mouth shut, then this whole argument wouldn't have happened. I mean, I don't even know what truly happened with Lucifer to talk about him in that way. Although I did speak the truth. We are being punished by a crime we did not commit… But that comment I said afterwards…

_Because it seems that in Maldecido, you judge innocent people crudely!_

God, Isabella Swan, why can't you think before speaking, before acting?

Edward was whispering something under his breath in a language I did not understand. He sounded angry, but he sounded sad more than anything else. Was it for what Stephen said? About him becoming a pathetic King, or was it because of my stupid comment?

Edward looked at me, and that's when I saw it. Something flashed through his eyes, but it vanished before I could identify what it was. Still, something in me got horribly sad.

"Edward," When he heard my voice, his jaw clenched. I walked over to him.

"I'm not angry for what you said, in case you are wondering," His voice was icy.

"It was my fault, I'm the one that spoke of things I don't know, things that don't involve me."

"It does," he corrected. "It involves you because you are part of this world." Edward took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his green eyes didn't look icy anymore, unlike like his voice.

"Do you want to know what Lucifer did?" he asked me. "Do you want to know why my people hate your world?"

I wanted to tell him that he should forget telling me, after all, it was forbidden, but I nodded anyway because I was selfish and curious. Curiosity was getting the better of me, and I couldn't listened to my mind, which was screaming at me: NO!

The forbidden things are truly the most tempting.

"As you may know," Edward began, the icy tone in his voice didn't disappear. "Lucifer was a young Prince that loved to travel through portals to discover new worlds. In one of his great journeys, he came across this world. He was amazed by everything and everyone here. That is why he made several trips here, and on each one, he found something new. The more he traveled here and the more he discovered, and the more he grew to love your world. Especially her."

With that last sentence, I understood everything.

He fell in love.

"Lucifer fell in love with a women named Sarah Ann, a twenty-year-old girl working at a baker shop. He one day, as he explored the town where he had appeared, he came across the sweet scent of cookies and cakes, distracting him from everything that was before him. When he saw her there at the shop, smiling brightly at a little boy that had left with a cake, he fell in love with her at first sight.

"From that day onwards, Lucifer watched the young girl from afar, not knowing how to approach such a beautiful creature." Edward stopped speaking for a moment. I looked at him in wonder, intrigued by this tale. He looked at me firmly in the eyes, and continued. "One day, she had a pot of flowers in her hands and as she walked in the bakery, she tripped over a rock that had been misplaced. She did not fall, however, nor the pot of flowers. Lucifer had run towards her and helped her control her balance before she did, and at that moment, when they stared into each other's eyes, they felt a connection. As if they were soul mates,"

"They spent a very long time together," Edward continued. "and fell madly in love with each other. Unconsciously, Lucifer was turning his back on his duties as the next King. He loved this world so much, and loved being with Sarah Ann that it was difficult to think of something else. Obviously, during time, he told her about his world and he was amazed, and relieved, to hear that she didn't mind at all. On the contrary, she wanted nothing more than to know more about him and where he came from."

"But the King grew tired of his son's irresponsibility's and portal traveling, so he decided to look for his son and drag him home himself. He was so angry at Lucifer, more so because Lucifer had a fiancée waiting for him back home." Edward said. "But you see, Lucifer did not love the girl his father had chosen to be his fiancée," Edward said. "Can you imagine what happened next, Bella?"

I shook my head, feeling my lips part slightly.

"When the King went to look for his son, he found Lucifer with Sarah Ann at the bakery. He noticed that she, a girl from another world and a commoner, had Lucifer's crest on her wrist. She was also three months pregnant with Lucifer's child."

"Oh my god," I whispered, my eyes wide. "W-what happened next? What did he do?"

"Of course, Lucifer was dragged back to Maldecido, where he was sent to the Eternal Jail for his sin. As for Sarah Ann and that of her unborn child, they were going to have a cruel fate as well. The King had ordered the guards to take Sarah Ann to the Eternal Jail until her child was born. Months later, when the baby girl was born, the lovers were reunited so they could be witnesses of the cruel fate that awaited their child. The baby girl was sentence to death by the King, and she would be killed in front of the lovers, so they could suffer for the forbidden act they had done. After that, the King put a cruel spell on Sarah Ann, which was to turn her into an old woman. Sarah Ann died a month later of old age and sorrow. "

My eyes widened, and I felt my chest tight.

"At the news of her death, Lucifer couldn't take it anymore. He was so angry at himself, blaming himself for everything that had happened to the love of his life and his child, that he cursed himself with his own powers while he was locked in the Eternal Jail." After a long pause, Edward continued. "The King's hatred for your world was much to great, and so he made a law that no one from my world was permitted to travel to yours. Now you know the truth."

"Why?" I shouted, feeling tears form in my eyes. I was hurting for them. "Why couldn't they be together? I mean his son _loved_ her!"

Edward's lips turned into a hard line. "That's just the way it works in my world, Bella."

"His own blood," I whispered in disbelief.

"Hatred destroys people, Bella, that is why you should never give in to that horrible feeling. Hatred won't heal you, so what's the point of it?"

I couldn't think of anything to say to him. So many thoughts rushed into my head like bullets, thoughts of Edward and I.

I'm not sure why I did what I did next. All I knew was that I felt an unknown connection with this man. A connection as if… fate brought us together. My thoughts were taking advantage of me. My body moved on its own.

I took his head in my hands and slowly brought him to me. Our lips touched softly, sweetly, and in that moment, I felt it. I can respond to him now. I care… I care a lot.

My heart aches for this man.

What am I going to do now?


	16. Confessions

**A/N: **Here's another chapter, guys. Hope you like it!

**Chapter 16 - Confessions**

**Bella's POV**

I pulled back slowly, realizing what I had done. I didn't want to pull away, though, but what I did was uncalled for. I shouldn't have done that; take him like that and kiss him. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

Edward looked surprised, but then he smiled. His eyes, I noticed, had a brilliance that wasn't there before. As I began to pull away, he pulled me back to him gently, and leaned towards me. He waited a moment - hesitating. He gave me time to pull back in case I didn't want him to kiss me again, but when I didn't move, he closed the space between us.

His lips were as sweet and warm and soft as before, and so was the kiss. It made me feel like as if I had butterflies in my belly. It made me feel whole. I wanted to melt in him.

"You don't have to apologize," he whispered against my lips. He brought his arms around my waist and rested his forehead on mine.

"Do you like me?" he asked me in a whisper.

"I—I'm still unsure of what's going on," I began, whispering as well. I took a deep breath and licked my bottom lip, a habit of mine, and I tasted him. He tasted like apples, just like his scent. "But I do."

I rested my head on his chest, above his heart, and noticed his heart beat was speeding, much like mine. I smiled. Edward rested his cheek on my head and took a deep breath. I could hear the storm outside my window and yet I wished that time would stop.

"I like you too," he said gently. "So, so much."

I knew that in this moment we were both wondering what was going to be of us.

**-0o0o0o0-**

"The kitchen is leaking too," Edward announced as he came in the living room, running his hand through his hair. I groaned and looked out the window again, sighing. The rain and lightning hadn't ceased, nor the wind or the floods. They only got worse.

Edward leaned against me and stared out the window as well, but I knew he was only doing this to tease me. I mean, the window was wide enough for both of us.

Having him so close made me nervous.

Edward was breathing on my ear, and I shuddered. "Stop breathing on my ear like that,"

He chuckled. "Like this?"

I shuddered again. "Stop it."

"Your ears are your weak spot?" he laughed, his eyes full of amusement. "They're my weak spot, too."

I gulped, feeling me cheeks hot. Edward and I were leaning against each other automatically. It was as if we were magnets, and gravity was forcing us to be together. His breath was hot against my skin, and his pink lips were inches from mine…

Suddenly, the lights went out.

"Ah, hell," I exhale, both in frustration and in annoyance.

Edward was going to say something, but a noise upstairs stopped him. It sounded like an object falling hard on the floor.

Edward quickly rushed towards the staircase, and I was right behind him. My heart was pounding fast already, uncertain of what we would find upstairs. When I looked up the staircase, I got goose bumps. It was very dark upstairs, and it felt weird, like when you see a scary movie, and you get that feeling of wanting to get out.

Edward looked back at me and mouthed: "_Wait here_."

I watched him go up the stairs as silent and fast as a cat, and disappeared into my room, where the noise came from.

Long minutes passed and nothing. Edward never came back.

"I can't stay here and do nothing," I whispered to myself harshly, finding the courage to go up the stairs.

I walked to my room as quiet as possible, just like Edward had. I stopped momentarily when I heard Edward grunt from inside the room; it sounded like he was struggling against something. With my heart in my throat, I opened the door to my room and quickly head inside.

I froze.

There was a big man strangling Edward from behind with a black belt, and a black creature holding Edward's arms.

The tall man was bigger, and taller, than Stephen himself, his blonde hair pulled back with gel. The expression he had on his face was a very cruel one, like one of those mayor serial killers.

The creature had the skin of a crocodile, with horns on it's head and all around it's back. It's claws were scratching Edward as it held him, snarling at him. From my angle, I could tell it had it's mouth opened, and when I saw it's long, sharp teeth, I shuddered. Green saliva was dripping from it's long fangs, and I suddenly wondered if it was toxic.

This creature could be the cause of the most terrifying nightmares one could have.

When Edward saw me, his eyes widened, and he began to shake his head furiously. _Get out, get out!_,his eyes said.

That's when the creature looked at me. In that moment, I knew I had lost all color from my face. The creature had the most twisted face a monster could have, it's narrowed eyes had the color of Hell's fire.

What the hell is that?

"Get her!" the man ordered the creature, his deep voice intimidating me. He let go of Edward, who fell on the ground unconscious.

"Edward!" I yelled in panic. Is he dead?

I was so busy staring at Edward that I didn't realized when the creature ran towards me. It pounced at me, and when it was close enough for me to hit it, I kicked it with all my force. The creature yelped and fell, its eyes filled with hatred as it stared at me.

The creature pounced at me again, and I ducked, running towards the other side of the room. From the corner of my eye, I saw the tall man take Edward and shove him over his shoulder. Then, he pointed toward the far wall, and suddenly, a light shone from his palm. The light crashed with the wall, and a pointed star shaped portal opened. This portal, however, looked different from the rest. The inside of the portal was black with strange red lines. It had a chilly feeling, that portal.

"No! Edward!" The man was going to take Edward away, and Edward was unconscious!

I took my eyes away from the tall man to look at the creature, who growled and glared. What am I going to do now? What is that thing?

"Let her be," the tall man said to the creature as he entered the portal. The creature looked at him sharply, and crawled on the wall towards the portal. It went through it after sending me a nasty, frightening glare.

I took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do. I may not know where this portal may lead, but I said I was going to protect Edward, even if it killed me. And protect him I will.

As the portal began to close, I quickly ran as fast as possible and jumped inside the portal, hoping that I could save Edward. Somehow…

-0o0o0o0-

It was very dark and chilly, wherever I was. I extended my hands in front of me, but I couldn't see them.

The ground beneath me was cold and moist, having the texture of rocks. There was silence; my uneasy breathing was the only thing that I could hear. But above all, there was an uneasy feeling about this place. As if the dead haunted it.

A ray of light suddenly appeared far away. It was a door, a door that opened by itself. I took the chance to look at where I was now, and got confused when I did. There were stony, moist walls on the sides, roots of trees sticking out of the rocks in some areas, a sign that wherever this place was, it was underground. I suddenly heard water drops falling on the ground from behind me, echoing in this strange and cold place.

The ray of light was disappearing as the door was closing slowly, so I got up from the un-leveled, slippery ground and hurried to the light, to the door, to my escape. I shoved the door open with force when I reached it, and found an unfamiliar sight.

The moon was high in the horizon in front of me, its blue rays shinning down on the mountains that was below it, and at the lake that was streaming down a little hill, making a small waterfall. I looked behind me quickly when I heard the door that I had come out through slam shut.

I was in a deserted place. Where I was, the walls were all rocky and looked old. _Everything _looked old. This place reminded me of an old church, but of course, this place was larger, wider, older… scarier. There were dim lights on the stony walls that led to a stony hallway on the right side of the structure. That hallway led to a closed door that had chains on it, three huge locks attached to the chains.

I shuddered, wondering what was inside that room.

It must be something bad, something that people want to isolate. I remembered that creature that was in my room, and I shuddered again. I looked to my left side to find another closed hallway, but this one seemed endless. I thought on where I had to go to start looking for Edward: behind me, there's the place I had come from; in front of me, there's an abyss; on my right side, there's a door that had chains hanging on it; and on my left side an endless hallway. My only choice was the endless hallway.

It got windy all of the sudden. The wind howled when I took a step forward. It howled as if I wasn't welcomed here, as if I was forbidden to trespass. But that didn't stop me. Gritting my teeth, I took another step, but the wind blew even harder, powerful. It was difficult to walk because of the strong wind; it suddenly felt like I was against a current, fighting for survival.

At last, after so much hard work, I entered the closed hallway and sighed in relief -the stony walls blocked the strong wind that had been forcing me back. I straightened up with narrowed eyes, determined to continue. I began to walk, and this time, it was not the wind, it was the dim lights that were on the walls beside me that made me feel as if I wasn't welcomed here. They turned to fire as I walked. It got very hot here, the fire increasing with each step that I took.

Something caught my eye. On the stony wall, there was the name _Maldecido_ carved on it.

I'm in Maldecido then?


	17. Marriage?

**A/N: **Thanks for the support, guys :D Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 17- Marriage?**

**Bella's POV**

I never imagined Maldecido to be this… awful.

It's so dark, unwelcoming… Scary. But that wasn't going to stop me. I had to help Edward, I have to save him. I need to try. I need to put my fears behind me. For him.

I found a door at the end of the hallway. It was still pretty far away from me, but I could see it clearly. I had hope, even if I did not know where this door would lead me. But I felt that I was a step closer to him.

I continued to walk, feeling and hearing as the fire increased its power, it's fury. When I reached the door, dizzy and sweaty as I was, I fettled with the door handle - it was so old - and after so much hard work, I got the door to open.

It seemed like a whole different place when I passed through it. There were so many people walking on the old streets, chatting with their companions. Children laughing and running around with wands in their little hands. There was a very light atmosphere here, not like before.

The structure was the same: stony walls and streets; antique looking street lights on the side of the street; there were no ceilings on the structures, only the peaceful night sky (there was no heavy wind like on the other side); there were white horses passing by me, men riding them. Each of the horses had a seven pointed star near their ears. It reminded me of Edward's crest.

The cloths the people wore were not like Edward's clothes. Perhaps the Royal had another way to dress, but that was understandable. The females wore knee-length dresses with shoes similar to the ones Gypsies wear. Mostly all of them had ribbons decorating their hair. The males wore long pants that had strange designs on them - of course not everyone, but most of them - and a shirt, whish also had weird designs.

I liked this side of Maldecido. It seemed peaceful, happier, and suddenly, I felt like I belonged here. However… This time it was not the wind or the fire that was treating me like I was not welcomed here… it was the citizens of Maldecido. The laughter and conversations stopped. Everyone - everything - stopped their movements when they were aware of my presence. I gulped. The silence was so intense, that you could drop a needle on the floor and you would hear it.

I decided to see if talking would make things a little better.

Or worse.

"Um… Does any one happen to know where Prince Edward is?" I asked.

Everyone perked up at the mention of the Prince. They whispered in a language that I did not understand, the language Edward spoke when he was talking to himself. They looked at me with hard eyes now. I balled my hands in fists.

"You people are being rude." I slapped myself mentally for what I just said. Even though it was slightly rude of me to say as well, but staring at a person like this?

"Bella," I knew this deep voice, and for the first time, I was glad.

"Stephen," I sighed in relaxation when I saw him stepping out of the crowd. But Stephen's face was serious. Then I remembered about the argument. Damn it.

Everyone looked at us as Stephen took me by the arm roughly.

He's still pissed off.

Stephen turned to the crowed and said something in their language, everyone looked at me, and then proceed on doing what they were doing before they saw me. I wonder what he said.

Stephen dragged me to an area where there weren't any people. Once there, he shoved me to the wall and trapped me there.

"Okay before you say anything I just want to apologize," I said quickly. "What I said was uncalled for and was rude. I am sorry, Stephen." However, he ignored me. Was it possible to look even angrier?

"_What_ are you doing here?" he asked me roughly.

I jerked from his grasp. He didn't even flinch.

"I came here to look for Edward." I was surprise at how strong my voice came out. "If you aren't aware, he was dragged here _unconscious, _by the way, by a strange man and some demonic creature. I came to find him."

Stephen leaned back, giving me a chance to escape if I wished. "I am fully aware."

"Well?" I asked.

"Well what?"

That got me angrier. I know that he must be angry because of earlier, and a simple apology won't make it any better, but we needed to put this behind us for now. Edward was in danger! "Where is he, Stephen?"

Stephen narrowed his eyes at me. "What are your feelings towards Edward?"

His question took me off guard. I blinked rapidly, and crossed my arms over my chest, composing myself. "What does that have anything to do with you?"

"Answer me before I kick you out."

"I-I like him, okay!" It was embarrassing to say this out loud.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Is that so? You must understand that in the end, you two cannot be together. Edward, of course, will try to find you and bring you back to Maldecido too see if you will be accepted by his parents, but you already know that you are not welcome here. So give up on the fantasy of being in a romance with him because it will never be allowed. If you don't leave him be, Bella, blood will spill, and you don't want that right?"

_"Stay away from him," His voice wasn't sweet and calm like it always is. It was deep and icy. "Or blood will be shed."_

My dream… Now I get it. In my dream, Alexander wasn't warning me about Jasper, he was warning me about Edward. Everything suddenly fits now.

My heart started to ache.

"I-I know that." I said. "But I promised myself that I would protect him, even if it caused me my life… And that is what I am going to do."

Stephen chuckled humorlessly and took out his familiar silver pen, drawing an oval on the stony wall behind him. A portal was opened. He turned to me.

"I don't know how you got here, nor do I care, but you have to go back." He sounded so cold.

I grimaced. "I'm not going anywhere until I find him."

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how to do you intend to get pass the gate of the castle? The bodyguards?" he scoffed and waved me off. "This is our world. You will be eaten alive here, and I am just thinking what will become of you if this people knew you were from the forbidden world."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "Aren't you suppose to be protecting the Prince with your life as well? You know that he was taken here in a terrible state, yet you are not doing anything!"

"I _am_ protecting the Prince!" Stephen yelled. "I'm protecting him from _you_! I will do whatever I have to do for his well being, have that in mind. Now go back."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said simply. "I'm going to find him."

"And then what? There's nothing a little girl like you can do, accept the fact. Now be wise and return to your world."

I didn't respond, I only ran.

**-0-0-0-0**

I don't know what all the fuss was about, I got inside the castle easy.

The castle was just like the town: old, stony walls and ground. It was very big, of course, and was a cream color. There were two towers on each side that had sharp ends on the rooftop and small windows all around them. The windows of the castle were wide and looked elegant. There was a beautiful fountain on the front lawn, one which had a huge crescent moon and a seven sided star carved on it.

Something told me that was the Crest of the Royal family.

I blended in with the night, and went west side of the castle, checking to see if there was a backdoor, which by luck, there was. And it was opened. For a Royal family, which I guess need to be protected, this castle was awfully opened.

I walked cautiously inside.

I didn't see any people, though, and I was glad. I saw a grand staircase as I walked deeper into the castle. The staircase had a chandelier on the roof, which was lit. I walked cautiously upstairs, and stopped abruptly when I heard a female voice coming from the first room in the hallway; the door was half open.

My heart stopped.

"You look simply breath-taking, my dear Princess." an old female voice praised. There was a giggle in response.

"Of course I do! When am I not?" The other female voice sounded much younger, but made me frown. So much arrogance. I walked silently up the stairs. "This dress is simply _wonderful _for tomorrow's ball. There Edward and I will announce our _engagement_!"

My heart stopped. Time stopped. _Everything_ stopped. _En…gage…ment?_

"Prince Edward is very lucky to be compromised with such a beautiful young lady such as yourself," said the same old voice.

The response was the girl's giggles. "He is, isn't he? Wait until he sees me in this beauty."

"He will be breathless,"

The response was the girl's giggles.

My feet felt like snails as I walked upstairs numbly, not caring if someone saw me anymore. I leaned against the wall, beside the door, and slid down numbly at this news.

_Edward's going to get married?_


	18. Not One of Us

**Chapter 18 - Not one of us**

**Bella's POV**

_**M**__arriage…_

I knew deep down we could never be together, but part of me still hoped. Isn't it funny? At first, I wanted nothing to do with Edward, nothing to do with his world, but not now. Because… I have fallen for the future King of Maldecido.

What am I going to do? He's getting married!

"When is the wedding, if I may ask, Princess Andromeda?"

"Oh, it's still undecided, but I want it as soon as possible. I want Edward and I to be one already. I want both his body and soul to be mine." the princess said. "Especially his crest. I want it to be carved on my skin forever, letting everyone know that I am his, and he is mine."

The old women laughed warmly. "You speak of this with so much passion, my dear,"

"It's because I love him," The girl's arrogant voice suddenly got very soft, very warm.

"Really, now? " the old woman chuckled, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Oh, but I do!" the princess said in defense. "I've always have, ever since we were children."

I felt a jolt of jealousy and pain when I heard those words.

I shouldn't feel like this, I knew it, and it's obvious that he would get married with a beautiful Princess, not me. But I couldn't help it.

I brought my knees to my chest and hugged them, feeling tears sliding down my face. Has Edward been playing with me all this time? When he said that he liked me… Was he telling me the truth? Damn it, I feel like such a fool. He had this girl here, and he yet… I mean, he's getting _married_! That idiot! Just when I realize how I felt, _this happens_!

"What am I to you, Edward?" I sobbed quietly.

"Hey!" I heard a man shout. He sounded very close, and not to mention angry.

I looked at the staircase, startled, and saw a young man. His hair was a very light brown-it looked lively and had curls that flipped out; his eyes were a piercing green, but not as haunting and awing as Edward's. He was taller than Edward and Jasper, but not as tall as Stephen; he was also wearing the type of clothes that Edward had been wearing, meaning that he might be a Prince. He was very handsome. But his beauty was beyond the point.

The point right now was that I was caught.

"What is prince Alistair shouting about?" the old women in the room grumbled in irritation.

_Alistair_? I looked at the handsome man that was on the staircase with wide eyes. Alistair! This just got worse! I had to get out of here.

"Guards! There's an unfamiliar commoner here! _Get her_!" Alistair commanded when I got up and ran through the lit, elegant hallway.

There was a curve at the end of the hallway that led to an open hallway. I could see the moon on the horizon next to me; feel the wind getting stronger, meaner, like before. I could hear guards running behind me, ordering me to stop. I heard voices shout below me as well, and I realized that there were more guards running below me, torches in their hands. I ran down a flight of a swirl-like stairs and lost my balance on the last step. I was prepared to face the floor, but a strong pair of arms caught me.

"Bella?" The voice was soft, above a whisper, and it was very familiar to my ears.

I looked up, wide eyed, and met those familiar green eyes. "Edward?"

He's… he's okay?

I noticed that he had a piercing in his right ear. And had three rings on his right hand, and a new tattoo on his neck. This one was very small. It was an eclipse as well, but it had a white colored letter _B_ on it. _B_… No… It can't be my name. I wonder when he got it? I haven't seen that one, and it's very noticeable, and that piercing as well.

Edward's face was one of surprise, his green eyes wide. When I saw his face, I immediately thought about that girl, his fiancée. I stepped away from him.

"Prince Edward, stay away from that commoner!" the guards shouted.

"How dare she get that close to him!"

"Let's get her!"

Edward looked over my shoulder and his eyes got dark as his lips turned into a hard line. He shoved me to him protectively; my heart began to beat faster than it already was. I breathed him in. Apples. It's like coming home.

"I will not forgive those who touches this girl." Edward said harshly. He picked me up in a bridal form as he spoke.

"But sir-" The guard shushed when Edward looked at him harshly. They can't deny a Prince's order.

I looked at him. He looks so different here than when he's at my house. He near, yet… so far.

Edward began to walk up the stairs again, the guards were letting us pass, but they were all glaring at me. I felt a sudden jolt through my whole body, and I couldn't help but wonder, Do they know from which world I came from?

"Edward!" Edward stopped on his tracks as Alistair called him. Alistair was two steps in front of us.

"Get out of the way," Edward hissed.

"That girl is the one from the Forbidden World?" Alistair asked.

Edward gave a current nod and said, "Let's talk about this in a private place. This is no place to speak about this."

What's going on? Wasn't Alistair the bad guy too?

Alistair thought it over. "Very well, let's go before—"

"—Alistair, Edward, what is going on?" This time it was another voice, another man, coming from behind us. Edward stiffened, and Alistair's lips turned into a hard line.

We all looked behind us to find the guards straightened and letting pass a blonde man. He looked in his 40s or so; his eyes were a deep chocolate brown and reflected anger, his blonde hair was tide back like Stephen's. The man had three rings on one of his hands, like Edward; and the clothes he was wearing were a little different than the Princes'. The clothes looked like that of a King's.

"Father," Edward said calmly, but still a little nervous.

The blonde man looked at me sharply. "What is the meaning of this, Edward? That girl… "

"Father, I can explain-"

"-You disappeared for a month and a half, didn't tell us where you were, _left_ Andromeda _waiting_ for you, and yet you have the face to bring a _commoner_ to the castle. Honestly Edward, you never fail to disappoint me." the blonde man spoke in a harsh tone. I felt a wave of anger rise in me.

"Father, I'm sorry to say this but… I am not going to marry Andromeda." Edward said seriously. I looked at him wide eyed, and so did the king. But I was happy to hear that he wasn't going to marry her. …Could I be more selfish? "I'm in love with the girl I have in my arms, not her."

"Edward…" I whispered, tears forming in my eyes at his confession. It was so brave of him to tell this to his father, but so stupid! I'm not allowed here, I-

"That _commoner_?" the blonde man snapped in rage. "Edward, that girl is from the Forbidden World! She's the cause of what happened to Lucifer! She's a witch!"

"Why must she be punished for a crime she did not commit, father?" Edward growled. "What Lucifer did was nothing wrong! He fell in love, like _I _did! Is that a crime? I think that what his father did was the cruelest thing a person can do to his offspring!"

The king's eyes were as mean and fierce as a Lion's. "I will _not_ allow this. Lucifer's mistake will not be repeated, Edward. I will do anything in my power to keep that _witch_ away from you. And you _will_ marry Andromeda."

The King glared at me. It was a deathly glare. Somehow, I felt like he was staring at my soul. Crushing it into tiny pieces. He began to whisper something I did not understand, his eyes intense on mine.

"No!" Edward shouted suddenly, holding me closer to his body, trying to shield me from something. I looked at Edward in surprise, but also in fear. He was staring at his father, his eyes wide. What's going on?

I looked down at myself as I didn't feel Edward's arms anymore, even though he hadn't placed me on the ground. That's when I realized that I was fading. It was as if I was turning into a ghost. I panicked. What is his father doing to me?

"Edward?" Edward looked at me as he heard my panicked voice, fear in his eyes.

"Bella!" Then everything went black.

**0o0o0o0**

The next time I awoke I found my wrists shackled, and I was inside a circled room. The walls looked endless up above; there were no windows, only one huge door on the east wall, which was chained. There was nothing in this room, only dim lights on the walls.

"Where am I?" I whispered to myself as I got up slowly. I looked around the room nervously, then something caught my eye. There was something moving here. A shadow.

I took a step backwards. The shadow was growing, it was laughing as it did. Can shadows laugh? I stepped backwards again, my heart pounding in my chest. There was wind suddenly, so strong, that it knocked me to the cold ground. But there are no windows here!

"What the hell is this?" I shouted.

The shadow continued to laugh as it grew near to me. I crawled backwards, feeling as if this shadow was going to eat me if it reached me. The wind didn't cease. It was howling just like before. There was more cruel laughter now, it seemed to come from the endless ceiling. I let out a scream of panic.

"Get away!" I screamed at the shadow that was nearing. It only laughed.

"Bella!" This was Edward's voice. He was banging on the chained door. Thank God that he was here.

"Edward!" I shouted back, trying to crawl to the door, but the wind was too strong, it didn't let me.

"You cannot save her!" This time it was Stephen. "You cannot go against the King's decision, Edward. He wants her locked _in _there!"

I didn't hear Edward's voice anymore, and the banging on the door had stopped, so I thought that he had listen to what Stephen had said, but then the door exploded. I realized that in that second, the strong wind had vanished and the shadow had disappeared. And so did the laughter. I looked where the door once was to find Edward. He had his hand extended forward, and I saw that he had a seven sided star glowing on his palm. It disappeared after a few seconds. Stephen was behind him, a look of disapproval on his face.

"Bella!" Edward exhale as he ran to me. He kneeled in front of me, holding me to him.

"Edward… What is this place? There was a shadow here!"

"It will be alright now. Its over." he assured me.

"What going on? _Tell_ me." I demanded, looking at him in the eyes. He stayed silent for a moment, wondering what he should do. After a few moments, he nodded his head.

"I'll explain everything, Bella. I promise. But first we need to get moving before someone finds out I took you out of here."


	19. Forbidden Act

**A\N: **Hello everyone! I'm so happy that you are all enjoying this story. Every review is appreciated and puts a smile on my face, haha!

I'm going to be starting a **BoyxBoy story (slash fic) **soon, so if any of you like that type of fic, put me on **Author Alert**! ^-^ Also, I'm going to write a **Dark Edward story** soon, too, for those who love him! So keep an eye out!

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**Chapter 19 - Forbidden Act**

**Bella's POV**

Stephen didn't agree at all that Edward let me out of that horrible place, but when Edward ordered him to let him be, he had no other choice but to oblige.

Edward picked me up and assured me that everything would be alright when he realized how scared I truly was. Afterwards, he took a deep breath and chanted something. A bright light appeared in front of me, making me blind for a moment. Next thing I knew, I was in a bedroom. It was a male's bedroom, because of the decorations and the colors; black and blue. It certainly did not look like an ordinary male bedroom; it looked far from that. It was elegant; the furniture looked mighty expensive, and they looked very different from the ones in my world. The bed was located in the center of the room, the rays of the moon illuminating the grand bed. The bed, I noted, had Edward's crest carved on the elegant dark wood.

He put me on the bed gently and went to lock the dark wooden door. After that, he closed the curtains of the elegant window, making the moon's light vanished. It was dark now, the only thing that lit the room was a small lamp that was next to the bed, it's light sinning dimly.

I was going to wait to interrogate him later, but the suspense and the curiosity was getting the best of me, and so I gave in. "Edward, how…? What happened to that man and that demon?"

Edward didn't answer me. He only came to the bed and laid me down, hovering over me. _Too close, too close, too close!, _my mind screamed. I was wondering if he could hear my heart beating. I, for one, felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

Edward's face was unreadable, yet somehow, I saw sadness in his eyes. I saw guiltiness.

"What are you doing?" I asked him in a whisper when he settled himself in between my legs.

"This is the only way I can protect you, Bella," he whispered. "I wanted to do this differently, you know, let our relationship get stronger but… but this is urgent."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you that when a Prince makes love for the first time, his crest will appear on his beloved's body?" I nodded quickly, my throat suddenly dry when he hit the sex topic. He rested one arm on each side of my face, leaning closer. "If I make love to you, you will have my crest. Once you have it, Bella, _nobody_ can do anything to hurt you, because if they do, they hurt _me _as well. Literally."

"That's why they didn't kill Sarah Ann." I noted with wide eyes. Suddenly everything fell into place. "Because if they killed her, they would have killed Lucifer too," Edward nodded. "You never told me that, Edward." I exhale breathlessly. I couldn't imagine him getting hurt because of me.

"Do you trust me?" he urged.

I nodded. "Yes." _But I'm scared_.

He didn't speak; he only closed the distance between us with a kiss. The kiss was very sweet, but it grew urgent, needy.

"Hmm…"

I really liked this, but I couldn't help but feel nervous, feel like this is too recent, too soon. What would happen if anyone is to know about what we are doing? I recalled Lucifer's tale and I panicked.

"Edward," I whimpered urgently, breaking the kiss. Edward's eyes locked on mine for a moment before looking away, regret in them.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling away. He sat on the corner of the bed, far away from me. "I was forcing myself on you."

"It's not that," I let him know quickly. "I'm just frightened. What if someone finds out that we did this?"

Edward looked at me. "I'm scared too," he let me know. "I don't know what will the consequences be of us doing this, but I'm prepared for what's to come. This is the only way I can figure out to protect you."

"You realize that if we do this… you will be betraying your family. I can't let you do that. And what about your fiancée? Andromeda. You need to marry her."

He leaned to me and cupped my cheek. "I don't want to live my life a lie, Bella. And that of my fiancée… That was my father's decision, not mine. If I marry her, I won't make her happy, I know it. And she will not make _me_ happy either. What future will await Maldecido if their King and Queen are miserable? I know what you are worried about, and it's natural, but I promise that everything will turn out alright. Lucifer didn't fight hard enough, Bella, and I will. I love you too much. I need you."

"Oh, Edward," I whispered and hugged him.

Edward's arms came around me, and I suddenly felt a pain in my chest. But it was a good pain. It's that kind of pain that takes a hold of me every time I hear his voice, every time I feel his warm skin. It's that type of pain that makes me want to melt myself in him. It's that type of pain that makes me understand that I truly care for him. That I truly… love him.

"What if your father finds out?" I asked him. "I don't want your father to throw you in the Eternal Jail!"

"If he finds out, we'll run away together; start a family of our own."

I pulled away and looked at him eye wide. "Leave everything?"

"_Everything_," he agreed and kissed me passionately. "I don't want to lose you, Bella."

"But you're the next king, I…"

"Alistair will take my position," he assured.

"But isn't he the bad guy too, Edward? I do not understand any of this!" I said loudly.

"I said I will explain it to you later, Bella, didn't I?" he asked me. I nodded. He kissed me again.

I smiled against his lips. "Then… let's do a forbidden act together."

Edward kissed me deeply and started to push me down the mattress. He opened my legs with his hands as we kissed, and hovered my body.

His kisses were so warm and sweet and made me feel whole. I felt safe with him, I felt loved.

I moaned, arching my chest towards him as I felt his fingers slip through my pants and panties and finding my core.

My body feels so hot.

Edward broke the kiss and looked at me through his luscious eyelashes for a second, his green eyes piercing right through me. I let out a moan and curled my toes as he began suck the skin on my neck and felt his finger tease my clit. My hands were trembling as I tangled them in his hair, grasping it. He nibbled my skin gently, in response, I started to feel my legs weak.

"Edward…" I moaned, bringing him closer. Edward licked my neck, sending a wave of pleasure though me. "Aah…" I bit my lip, feeling myself blush as he played with my ear and my core. My heart was thumping so hard, my mind screaming his name, my body yearning for his touch. I want him. Every part of him.

I tried to control myself as he touched me. I had to remember that we were in a place where there were so many people, and that nobody knew I was in here. Nobody knew we were doing this.

"Gah…Ahh…" My breathing came out in quick gasps as he continued, my toes curling and uncurling, waves of pleasure hitting me like lightning again and again. I could feel myself becoming wetter as he teased me.

"Bella…" he whispered passionately. I knew right then and there that he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

Edward's other hand was tangled in my hair, pulling it softly. He hissed when I pulled his hair too much suddenly. But I can't help it. He's driving me _crazy_! His finger left my core and so did his lips that were on my ear. He kneeled on the bed, looking at me, a smirk on his rosy lips, and sucked the finger that was wet with my fluids. That made me blush. I sat on the bed too, but he shoved me back down, hovering my body again. His lips met mine.

He ran his tongue across my bottom lip and sucked it. My hands returned to his bronze locks, twirling some of them in my fingers.

My body was yearning for his touch again.

I grabbed his hand without breaking the kiss, and brought it to my breast. I felt him smile from beneath my lips. His hand traveled down my stomach and disappeared underneath my thick shirt and my black bra, groping me. _This felt so good_… I broke the kiss for the lack of air as he groped me, and looked at him. He had his eyes opened, and when he met my eyes, he smiled.

The intensity of his gaze was making me fall for him all over again.

He used his thumb to tease my hardening nipple. "Ed…ward…" I moaned.

This encouraged him. He kneeled between my legs and lifted up my shirt. Then he unclasped my bra by the front of it, and exposed the top half of my body. He sucked my nipple gently, teasing me. I let out a cry of pleasure and I felt him smile. _Such a tease, _I thought. I arched my back against him, moaning. He was getting me very hot, and we haven't gone all the way yet. I wanted him. _Now_!

"Ahh…" I cried. "Edward…I can't… gahh…!"

He chuckled lightly. "You're so cute when you make those faces," he said in a husky voice, playing with my nipple with his tongue now.

"You're driving me…crazy-_aah_…" I told him. His lips returned to mine, and then a few seconds later, they disappeared. He looked at me.

"I'm going to make you mine, Bella." he whispered to me. "And you will have my crest," I sat up as he leaned back, kneeling on the bed again.

He took off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. Meanwhile, I worked with my remaining clothes. We were naked before one another, and I couldn't help but blush furiously. I mean this was the first time I have been naked in front of a man.

The crest that will be on my skin forever captured my eye. It was so beautiful. And I knew that even though I was going to have it, I would never understand the true meaning of the crest.

Edward kissed me softly, taking my attention away from his crest. He had my small head in his hands, bringing me closer. I felt my long, loose hair on my waist as I moved; the tips of my hair tickled me. Slowly, ever so slowly, Edward shoved us back without breaking our kiss.

Again, I began to have that panic attack of having sex. I was scared, but I was in the care of Edward; this was no stranger. This was _him_. This was his hands on my body, his lips kissing me, his touch making crazy… This was _him_. I can do this.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered against my heated skin. That sent a wave of pleasure down to my spine and sent blood to my cheeks. I smiled.

"I can say the same thing," I muttered. And just now, as I see him naked, I realized that Edward had so many tattoos on his body.

All his tattoos looked beautiful on his skin, and I know that all of them had a story, a reason of being there. He had his Crest, the snake on his arm, the eclipse on his neck, and I saw a new one on the V of his abdomen. It was small as well-a weird design. I couldn't exactly describe it. It looked like something written in a weird language.

Edward leaned to me and gave me a kiss before whispering: "This will hurt, Bella, but just this once, be wounded by me."

I nodded, knowing what he was referring to, and gave him another kiss before he positioned himself on my entrance and thrust slowly. I hissed, making a pained face.

"Aah…It hurts…!"

Edward soothed me. "It will hurt just this once, I promise." He pulled back, and thrust again slowly. He was being gentle, careful not to hurt me more than I already was.

Edward was inside of me now, he's filling me. We were whole; one. I smiled. The bed began to creak with each thrust.

One thought came in my mind as he thrusts into me, as I heard his groans of pleasure, as I looked into his lustful eyes, as I felt his member inside my body: I'm… not a virgin anymore.

"Bella," he whispered my name like a prayer.

Then it came. I felt my stomach curling, a wave of pleasure very intense inside of me. I arched my back, and my eyes widened as I came. Edward came with me. He filled me with his liquids and I felt wonderful.

"Bella," he called me in a whisper, looking intensely at my chest. I lifted my head from the pillow and saw what he was looking at. My eyes widened.

In my left breast, above the nipple, was now the same Crest Edward has. The seven sided star with the letter _E_ in it, and seven swords pointing at it.

Edward kissed it.

"Nobody can separate us now." His words didn't sound convincing to my ears, which frightened me. Even though we have this bond now, there's still danger ahead of us.

Edward rested his head on my chest and I closed my eyes, tangling my fingers in his bronze locks. I could hear the wind howling outside; as if it was furious. I heard the thunder erupting the sky, smelt the rain as it pour down viscously, and couldn't help but think about the forbidden act we had just done.


	20. Complications

Hey, guys! I know, I know. I haven't updated in, what, 2 months? I'm really sorry about that! I've just been so busy! Anyways, here's another chapter of In Love with a Wolf. I hope you guy like is as much as I liked writing it.

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**Chapter 20 - Complications**

**Bella's POV**

* * *

I should be happy right now.

Edward and I love each other, and I just experienced—_we_ just experienced—the most wonderful thing in the world. I also have his crest on my body, which makes it all a dream. I never thought I would be the chosen one to be his beloved; his soul mate_. I should be happy_.

But why aren't I?

I feel uneasy having his crest on my chest, only because I know things will be very risky now. If someone is to see this crest on my body, Hell will break lose. Even though Edward may say that we will just run away together if someone finds out, things don't work that way. That would be cowering away.

I have to hide it, hide our love affair from the people of Maldecido.

Jasper came in my mind, and I gritted my teeth.

That idiot says that he wants to use me to kill Edward, and now that I have this crest on my chest, and now that whatever physical pain I am in, Edward will feel too, I definitely can't let him see it. If he does, he will use that in advantage. I have to be very aware of my surroundings. I have to be careful now, so I won't get injured, that way, Edward will never be injured because of me and Jasper will never suspect anything. Somehow I felt a huge weight on my shoulders. But I said that I will do anything to protect Edward, and if this is what I have to do, so be it.

I looked down at Edward's sleeping form as I heard his soft breathing, and I smiled—his head was resting on my chest, a sheet spread over us. I ran my hand gently through his hair so I won't wake him up. He looked so peaceful when he slept. His cheeks still have a faint scarlet color and his breathing comes out so soft, so peacefully.

He looked so beautiful.

The thoughts came to me again.

I hate to be melodramatic, really, but I can't help but feel like this. I can't help but to fear for his life again. This was a mistake, this love is a mistake; a taboo. We were fools as to think that having this bond will change anything. I'm not good for him. He's now in danger for just being near me, I—

His parents may band him from his own house—his own world—if they find out he's been with me like this. I felt that pain in my heart again at the thoughts. I knew what I had to do. It's to protect him, I tried to convince myself. It's the only way to save him.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, broken-hearted, at him as I lowered my head to kiss the crown of his head.

I slowly got him off me, being gentle so that he won't wake up. I laid his head on the pillow softly and tried to get up without moving the bed so much. I covered my body with the bed sheet once I got up successfully, and quickly went to pick up my clothes.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:58 PM; it's earlier than I thought. Once I was dressed, I quickly went to him and covered his sleepy form with the bed sheet, feeling myself on the edge of tears. His breath hitched and his brows furrowed slightly when the sheet landed on his body. I stopped my movements, praying that he wouldn't wake up. He let out a sigh and cuddled, his breathing coming out normally again. I let out a mental sigh of relief.

I walked over to the door, and was ready to open it, when I heard him groan in pain, his breath hitching.

I turned around to look at him and saw that he was fisting his shirt just above his heart as he sat on the bed, his eyes wide, gasping for air. My heart skipped a beat. I knew that look, this sudden attack. This is what had happened to him the night Jasper found him. The night when Stephen told me that Edward had taken the form of an animal again. Oh my God…

"Bella," his voice was filled with pain as he looked at me. His eyes were changing. They were green but they were turning red. He groaned again, closing his eyes and letting out gasps as another wave of pain hit him. I panicked.

"Edward-!"

"Give me… the necklace." he said through gritted teeth.

"What necklace?"

He opened his eyes, and they terrified me. They were red now, wide and wild.

"The necklace!" his voice was filled with urgency, desperation. "The one that's on the dresser, the Red Cross with the silver chain. Bring it to me!"

I looked around the room, still unfamiliar as to where was the dresser he spoke of. When my eyes locked with it I quickly ran to it and my hands were running through the wooden surface, searching quickly for the necklace. When I found it, I quickly took it and ran to Edward's side. Edward quickly took the necklace when I handed it to him, and I watched as he pressed a diamond that was on the center of the Red Cross. The diamond shone. Edward lay on his bed again, trying to control the pain and his breathing.

"What-?" I asked, not knowing … anything.

"I called Stephen," he explained to me.

"Are you going to turn into a wolf?" I asked, panicking.

Edward sat on the bed, and began to get up (he was fighting the pain, I realized). He grabbed his pants that were on the floor below his feet, and began to put them on.

"Bella," his voice was low, tired. I looked up at him. "You have to get out of here."

I shook my head as he sat back on the bed. "No, I want to help you,"

He looked at me with his red eyes, and it sent shivers through me. It was terrifying when I first glanced at them, but then I saw the pain and loneliness in them. My heart ached.

"It's dangerous for you to be here," Edward swallowed hard and let out a whimper as another wave of pain hit him. "Leave."

I shook my head, holding his hands. "No, I want to protect you, Edward. I said I will, and I am keeping that word."

"But you were going to leave me… weren't you?" I was taken aback.

_To protect you_, I thought.

Stephen's voice caught me off. "Edward!"

He had barged in the room— I don't know how the hell did he unlock the door—, and quickly walked over to Edward, shoving me aside. He studied Edward's form, and asked him something in their language. Edward nodded, replied, and Stephen turned to me.

"Wait here," His voice was so serious and cold. Stephen turned to the far south wall and opened a portal. He, then, came to us and helped Edward get up. Edward looked at me for a moment, and then he went through the portal. It closed afterwards.

What? Where is he going?

"W-where did you take him?" I asked Stephen desperately as I saw the portal closing. Stephen's stony face turned to me.

"I warned you, didn't I? Yet, you didn't listen to me."

Something in his eyes brought fear right through me. Stephen walked to me and shoved me to the bed roughly, ripping my sweater off and revealing my chest to him.

"Hey-!" I yelled and tried to cover myself when he had me bare. I quickly remembered the crest as he looked down at my chest, which is exactly what he was staring at. He leaned back and eyed me.

I sat on the bed and covered my chest when he began to walk backwards. He saw it, I thought, He saw the Crest. He now knows what Edward and I just did.

"What will happen if the King found out that you had sex with the Prince?" he asked me. "You, who are from another world,"

I didn't reply; I simply glared at him. My heart was beating fast now.

He raised an eyebrow. "His fiancée wouldn't like that either. That Crest was meant for her, not you. Now she will never have it, she will never be the Queen. _Maldecido is ruined because of you_!"

"Maldecido would have been ruined anyway!" I yelled. "He doesn't love her, therefore it could never _work_! _Where_ have you taken Edward?" I shouted at him.

"You must leave and never come back!" he yelled. "And more importantly,_ forget_ about Edward."

I shook my head, gritting my teeth. "I'm going to help him!"

Stephen snapped. "You are not helping him! You are doing the opposite. Edward has never been in more trouble since you arrived. The King and Queen are furious at him because he didn't obey the King's orders and more now because the King knows where he has been this past month and a half! Edward is ignoring his responsibilities _because of you_! You are not helping him, you are destroying him." he shouted angrily at me. "What did you expect that you could live happily-ever-after with him? That love will find a way? It doesn't work like that. This is not novel or a fairytale; this is the real world. "

I held back, knowing his words were true. That's the reason as to why I wanted to leave. So this is why Stephen is colder with me, because he realized what I realized earlier. But I'm afraid that I realized a little too late. Everything is my fault. Edward could've just fought with his cousin already if it weren't because of me. But he wouldn't be happy if it wasn't for you, my subconscious told me in a small voice. I'm still hurting him; the only thing is that he doesn't know it yet.

"I know that what you are saying is true, and I will leave him since I know that is the right thing to do, but first tell me... What's going on with him? Tell me everything that I don't know!"

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything," he scoffed. He took out his silver pen, walked to the south wall, and opened a portal on the same place he had opened the first one. He turned to me once it was opened; the portal shone, the blue swirls sparkling inside. "Return to your world already. Forget about all of this."

No! I balled my hands in fists. "I won't leave until you tell me."

"You are so stubborn. It's annoying. I'm going to allow you to see Edward for the last time. However, you will have to wait until early morning because now he is in his wolf form. Edward will explain everything to you. But keep in mind that this will be the last time you two will speak again, because if I find out that you have been secretly seeing each other, I will take drastic measures to make Edward forget about you."

I looked at Stephen in disbelief, feeling anger rise in me. "You mother-"

Stephen took me by the arm roughly, and without saying anything else, shoved me through the portal.


	21. Meeting You Again

Hey, guys! I woke up yesterday at 3 AM with an amazing idea for this story. *evil laugh*

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**Chapter 21 - Meeting You Again**

**Bella's POV**

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When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on the floor in Charlie's bedroom. The first thing I did— besides silently wonder why I ended up in _this _room—was check my chest to see if what really happened—if what Edward and I did tonight –was real. I gasped when I saw his crest on my chest in all its glory.

It wasn't a dream. It really happened. I really went to Maldecido and Edward and I made love. I could clearly remember Edward caressing my body and it made my face flush.

_"However, if Edward gets too difficult, I will take drastic measures as to get him to forget you."_

Stephen's words echoed through my ears. I greeted my teeth as anger suddenly crept up inside me. Stephen once told me that what he does is for Edward's well-being, but this matter of thinking is cruel. Even if Edward _does_ forget me, he will not be happy. He will just be the way he was before he met me.

_Yet you wanted to leave him_, my conscience said harshly.

Okay, I accept it. I didn't have my head straight. If I left him, it was going to be a big mistake, nothing would have changed. At the time, I thought that it was a good idea. I only had in mind to protect him, but now that I'm thinking things clearly, I realized I was wrong. Dead wrong.

The wind howling outside the window tore me from my inner monolog. I slowly stood up from the floor and glanced out through the window. The night sky looked especially dark this night. I backed away quickly, looking through Charlie's closet to see if he somehow had a flashlight. After fighting with the darkness as I searched in his dark closet for so long, I finally found the small box I was looking for; in which said box was a flashlight.

I quickly turned it on after I shook it momentarily because it wouldn't turn on at first, and headed for the staircase. I let out a startled gasp when I heard a very strong wind noise coming from my room. Then I remembered that the window had been broken by that demon. I shook my head, trying to forget his terrifying face.

A flash of lightning lit the living room as I walked in it, and then came the Clash! I shuddered again and walked to the kitchen, once there; I quickly sat on the stool and waited.

**-0o0o0-**

All the anxiety wouldn't let me sleep, even though I wanted to. It was 5:30 AM already, and still no sign of Edward or Stephen. Did Stephen lie to me, saying that he would bring Edward?

"I can't believe I let myself get tricked!" I exclaimed, looking out through the small kitchen window. The storm, as I liked to call it, wasn't over. It didn't look even close to being over. The lightening, thunder, heavy rain and wind were roaring in the dark sky. I wondered when it all will be over.

I perked when I saw a bright light coming from the big oak tree in the middle of my backyard. _Oh, let it be a portal!_

I nearly let out a scream of joy when I saw a familiar form coming out from the bright light. The wolf.

Edward?

Through all the heavy rain, the wind, the thunder, and lightning, I quickly rushed outside. When my bare feet hit the swamped grass, I nearly fell as I lost my balanced. But I was glad that I didn't. By the time I reached the soaked wolf, I found myself smiling. When I buried myself in its fur, like I always did, I felt tears leave my eyes.

"Edward, I'm so glad you're here," I whispered against the damped fur.

I felt his head on my back, and his whimpers. I grasped his fur and squeezed it before pulling away. I was surely to catch a cold. I was shivering from the cold.

I pulled away from the wolf with wide eyes when I noticed he was glowing. He started to take the shape of a human as the bright light blind me. I stared in awe as he transformed. This was my first time watching it. In seconds, under the dark sky (even though it was passed dawn), and the thunder and lightening, Edward appeared. His body was completely soaked and his wet hair fell over his haunting green eyes.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever get used to this. I felt my cheeks flush when I noticed he was naked. I couldn't help but recall our night before.

I couldn't take him anymore. I had to be with him. I had to feel his arms around me, and love the feeling of him squishing me.

So I hugged him. "I'm so glad that you are alright, Edward,"

His strong arms wrapped around me, and I tightened my arms around him, letting him know how much I missed him, even if we were only a few hours apart. He suddenly pulled back and took my head in his large, yet gentle hands. He looked at me in the eyes before slowly leaning to me and pressing his cold lips on mine. I tasted the rain and his sweet taste.

"We better get inside," he said against my lips. "Or else we'll get sick under this weather."

I nodded in agreement.

When we reached the house and went inside, I noticed that the light came back. I didn't care to turn off the candles; I only had in my mind to take this wet clothes off me and be dry and warm. I was dreadfully cold, and so was he. I was going to go directly to the hallway closet for towels, but Edward pulled me to the bathroom instead.

"Edward?"

"Take your clothes off, quickly." He shivered slightly as he turned on the hot water of the shower. I had an idea of what he was thinking, and it made my heart skip a beat. I took off my clothes while he waited for me to do so.

"You can keep your underwear on," he assured me when he saw me biting my lip, my index finger on the elastic band of my panties. I looked at him through my wet lashes, and I swear his breath hitched. And it wasn't because of the cold.

"I know," I let him know. "But they're making me cold." I took off my underwear and then my bra. I didn't feel weird standing naked in front of a man. At least, not anymore. Not with Edward.

He turned to me, then, and extended his wet hand to me for me to take. Once in the shower, I let out a sigh as the hot water hit my cold skin. Edward had me in his arms, his back to the water so that when it hit him, it would slowly run through my body in a gentle manner. We remained a long while standing there, enjoying the hot water in our skin and just injoying the silence.

Edward started to kiss me on the neck gently and my heart began to beat fast. I swallowed nervously when he trailed his pale fingers to my bosom and gently trailed his crest.

Then I remembered that Stephen had seen it. Should I tell him?

"Edward… I need to tell you something."

"I know he saw it," He let me know.

My brows furrowed. "How…?"

"You won't believe the tantrum Stephen had when he was telling me." Edward said. "He warned me, too. That if we continued to do this… Hell will break lose. But I already know that." He let out a heavy sigh. "That's why you were going to leave me, wasn't it? You realized it too."

I let out a sad nod. He squeezed me.

"Just know that I love you," he whispered. I couldn't help but think that he was saying goodbye.

"Somehow… I feel like you're saying goodbye."

He hugged me tighter, but didn't say a word. My heart ached. Was he really saying goodbye?

"Don't you want to know what happened?"

Changing the subject now? I thought.

"Yes," I confessed. "What happened? Why were you a wolf?"

"Apparently there was something about the curse that we didn't know." he said.

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"It turns out I need something else besides my Beloved Maiden to break the curse. That's why I still turn into a wolf. But that's sometimes, and it only happens at midnight." Edward explained. "I can't control it, and I don't know when it will happen again. Those nights that I stayed with you, I was nervous in case I turned all of a sudden, but I'm glad that it didn't."

"But do you know what it is?"

"No," Edward sighed.

"Edward, who was that man?"

"Before I answer that question," he began. "I have to let you know what happened with Alistair."

"Ah, yes! Didn't he want you dead?"

"No. It was just as you said: Jasper used him. In the Royal Family, the Princes, Kings and Queens all have special powers. For example, I can cure cuts with my saliva, as you know,"

"I know," I murmured, feeling my cheeks hot.

"Jasper has the power to control people, and Alistair has the power to curse people, just like Lucifer had."

"Jasper controlled Alistair so he could curse you," I noted.

"Yes. But Alistair never knew he did this to me. You see, that's the tricky thing about Jasper's power. Once you go back to your normal self, you don't remember anything. That's what's going to happen to Daniel and Sheila."

"How did Alistair found out that he had been used, then?" I asked.

"Stephen was the one who found out. He fit the pieces of the puzzle perfectly. He told Alistair everything. That's when the man and the demon come in." Edward suddenly squeezed me. "I'm sorry you got frightened. If I knew they were coming, I would have warned you beforehand."

I shook my head. "I was more worried about you."

He kissed the top of my head. "That man is one of Alistair's "special" men. Alistair had told him to find me and to bring me back. Since Alistair knows how stubborn I am, he told the man to do whatever it took to take me back. That's what the man, who goes by the name of Artemis, did."

"But strangle you? Edward he could have killed you!"

"I know, but he didn't. He couldn't." he said. "Anyway, that demon that was with him is called _Maldecis_. Not many in people Maldecido have the power to fully control those demons, so when Alistair found that man and knew his great powers, he took him under his wing and made him his servant. And let me tell you, he's one hell of a servant."

"That creature was terrifying,"

"Not everything in Maldecido is good, as you know."

"Yeah. Jasper's a great example." I said. "I wonder what drove him like that."

"You're not the only one. Ever since his parents died, he's been like this. His heart has a darkness that nobody can ease."

"But have you tried to help him?" I asked.

"Yes, I did try. But unfortunately, he has build walls that nobody can break through."


	22. Who Are You?

**Author's Note:** I hope you guys enjoy this!

* * *

**Chapter 22- Who Are You?**

**Bella's POV**

* * *

Edward and I were already warm and dry, and the window of my bedroom was fixed—thanks to Edward. My room, however, was a total mess. But I would take care of that later.

"What now?" I asked while I sat next to Edward in the kitchen stools. He was eating an apple.

"I guess now that Alistair knows what's happening, he's going to help me deal with Jasper. He told me that we can't keep on waiting, Jasper's only getting stronger." Edward let out a long sigh. "I think it's time to tell my father. I didn't expect it to get this complicated."

My eyes widened. "You're really going to tell him now? That's great!" Edward looked at me. "When are you going to tell him?"

"When I return to Maldecido, I hope." He ruffled his hair and let out a groan. "I don't know how I'm even going to tell him."

I know that his father's rejections hurt him deeply, and that he's slightly scared to go back and confront him. I wished I could help him more. But… I guess I'll do what a Fork's girl can only do.

I took Edward's hand and smiled. "Everything will turn out alright in the end," I said. "Trust me."

Edward leaned a little closer and looked at our hands. "I hope you're right, Bella." he said. "And we still have to think about Alexander and the others."

I nodded. "But with this sudden storm, school is canceled. And not only school, but everything. It's like Forks is paralyzed." I said. "I'm glad, in a way; because this means that Jasper's plan is gonna have to wait."

"I agree." Edward said. His gaze trailed to my lips, and then at my eyes. "May I kiss you?"

Even though we were on a mess right now, I was glad that we could still get time for us. It was good to get away from the real world from time to time. I smiled. "When you kissed me for the first time, you did not ask. And it was my first kiss! Nor have you asked for the others. So why ask now?" He laughed softly, but I could see that he was sorry for it. "Don't worry, though. I'm glad it was you who stole my first kiss,"

He leaned towards me slowly, caressing my cheek as he chuckled. "Change of heart?"

I laughed.

"Clearly you must know what you have done to me, also. It's most unacceptable. You have guts, my maiden, to make a Prince fall this hard." he joked lightly. He parted his rosy lips, and I licked mine as he inched closer to them. I was itching for him to kiss me.

"Hurry up and kiss me, Edward," I whispered quickly. Right after I whispered those words, his lips met mine in a passionate kiss.

There were many emotions thrown in the kiss apart from love. There was fear, lust, sadness… The list could go on. Edward's hand came around the back of my neck, bringing me closer to him. My hands tangled in his hair, pulling it softly as the kiss grew more intense, more passionate. I could feel my throat dry as I knew that this will probably be our last kiss, our last time to express our love. And on top of that, I knew we didn't have much time left. I knew that at any given moment, Stephen could come and take him away forever. Edward must know he can't see me anymore. If he gets too difficult, Stephen will take drastic measures to make him forget me. I'm afraid to even think of this.

What is wrong with me? What has this man done to me? I have always been so collected; with my emotions and with work. But now I feel lost. I'm frightened. I don't know what will happen, what will I do after this?

"Edward," I whispered, breaking free from his lips. My voice came out shaky.

Edward, as if knowing what I was thinking, whispered sadly, "I know." He kissed me on the lips again. "I love you. Always know that."

"I love you, too. Always."

Edward and I looked at the backdoor as it shone brightly all of a sudden. My heart skipped a bit as I realized what it was. _No! Not now, it's too soon!_

My eyes started to water. _Don't take him away…_

I felt like a child when she is left in Kindergarten. The child cries because she doesn't want to be left there. She doesn't want her mom or dad to go. She needs them. As I need Edward.

Edward knew how I was feeling, and he was feeling it too. He took my hand and squeezed it. When I looked at him, I saw sadness reflected in his eyes, but also determination. I know he won't fight on going back this time; he has to. But I know his departure hurts him as much as it hurts me. I saw something flash through his eyes as I heard Stephen's voice behind me. I didn't catch what it was though.

"It's time to go back, Edward." Stephen said. "Everyone's been asking for you—especially Andromeda."

Stephen stood in front of the closing portal with his arms across his chest, eyeing us. His brown hair was loose this time—it was backwards, covered in gel.

"Edward, let's take our leave," Stephen said as he opened a portal with his magical silver pen again. Edward was silent, he didn't even move. I looked at him in wonder. He had his teeth clenched, and he looked like he was thinking something through. I was taken by surprised when Edward stood up and grabbed me by my arm, bringing me to him.

"If I go back, I'm going to take her with me, and demand the people of Maldecido to accept her; especially my parents." Edward said roughly.

_Edward…_

"You know that is unacceptable, Edward. Now please come, we must go. Remember that tomorrow is the gathering, where you and Andromeda will announce your engagement." Stephen said.

Edward's grip tightened on my arm at the mentioned of the engagement. "Stephen… I'm not going back without her."

"Edward, you have to go back," I said. He looked at me.

"What will be of Maldecido of their King and Queen are miserable?" he asked me. My throat dried.

"I thought you were going back to tell your father." I said.

"I am," Edward said firmly. "I just left the part that I was bringing you with me, and that I was going to ask my parents to accept you."

I was glad that he loved me so much as to do this, but I wasn't sure if I could take that kind of rejection again. But it's not only the rejection of his parents and his world; it's also Stephen's warning. And that dream I had about Alexander warning me too.

_"If you don't leave him be, Bella, blood will spill, and you don't want that right?"_ Stephen…

_"Stay away or blood will be shed." _Alexander…

"I knew you were going to get difficult," Stephen said. "So I brought reinforcements."

In that moment, I heard a giggling. A familiar giggle, at that. The portal shone brightly, perhaps even more than other times. From that portal, a young girl stepped out. She had long, wavy black hair; big and expressive violet colored eyes; a dark cream colored completion, and had a thin face. The dress she wore was very big, elegant, and it was a royal blue color with silver designs. She looked beautiful.

"Hello, Prince Edward, long time no see." she greeted and bowed. I know that voice… It's the girl that was giggling with that old women the night I found out Edward was going to get married—his fiancée.

"Andromeda?" When Andromeda looked at me her eyes turned hard and cold.

"Andromeda, hurry up and do it," Stephen sighed. "He is not going to listen to me."

Do what?

"My pleasure," Andromeda said, stepping infront of us. She took off a silver necklace that had a blue pendant and smirked at us. The pendant had the same crescent moon and carved seven sided star as Stephen's tattoo and the fountain of the castle.

Andromeda kissed the pendant, blew it— silver dust coming from her mouth—and then threw the pendant at Edward. But the pendant didn't hit Edward. It somehow opened half way. The star separating from the moon and the silver dust that Andromeda had blown at it went directly towards Edward.

I stared, wide eyed, at Edward as he shut his eyes tightly and his mouth opened wide, as if in a silent scream. He grasped his shirt, above his crest, and groaned in pain.

This didn't look like when he was having that attack, it looked different. What did that girl do to him?

"Be….lla…." Edward groaned in pain as he kneeled on the floor, taking my hand and squeezing it. "Ahh…"

"Edward!" I gasped, kneeling in front of him, panicking. He started to breath heavy.

"That should do it," Andromeda said.

"I hope so. I knew this girl was going to cause a mess in Edward's life the moment I saw her. I regret ever deciding to bring Edward to this world." Stephen said.

"You should have picked the deserted world," Andromeda said. But her tone was a little bit mocking. Stephen laughed.

Edward was sweating and trembling greatly. He looked so pale as well.

"What did you do to him!" I shouted, turning to Stephen and Andromeda. "Edward trusted you!"

"I warned you, didn't I?" Stephen said. My eyes widened as I recalled. _If Edward gets too difficult, I will take drastic measures as to get him to forget you._

My heartbeat quickened even more. "No…" Edward's low moan made me look at him. "Edward?"

He had stopped breathing hard, and stopped sweating and trembling. His skin had regained color and he regained his composure. Edward let out a groan as he pulled away, rubbing his eyes.

I rested my hands on his shoulders, trying to get him to look at me because he didn't respond when I called him. "Edward, look at me."

He did. But he looked at me as if he didn't know who I was. He looked at me in discuss, even. He jerked my hands away and stood up, leaving me on the ground. His face was very serious, and the look on his eyes felt as if a knife had pierced right in my heart.

"What are you doing, touching me like that?" he asked me coldly. "Who are you?"


	23. The Stranger

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for the late update u.u I fail, I fail.

* * *

**Chapter 23 - The Stranger**

**Bella's POV**

* * *

I felt light heade and I wanted to throw up.

I can't believe Stephen did it. He and Andromeda made Edward forget me.

"Edward," I whispered, desperately looking into his eyes. "It's me. You—you have to remember me. Just—"

"I don't recall ever meeting you," Edward said. His eyes were still far away. He looked at me like he didn't know who I was, which, right now, was true_. _

_Edward doesn't know who I am_.

"Now excuse me, I must—where am I?"

"No where important," Andromeda said with a tone of arrogance. She took his hand, and I felt my body being consumed by anger. By jealousy. "Come, Edward, we must go,"

"Right," he agreed, and turned to Stephen. "Stephen, open a portal."

Edward seemed cold. He seemed different, like he doesn't care about anything. This wasn't the Edward I met. This wasn't the Edward I know. And I have to do something about it. I have to save him. I have to.

Quickly, I reached for him as Stephen opened a portal to Maldecido. I took him by his arm and yanked him to me, leaving everyone wide eyed and speechless. I took his head in between my hands and looked at him closely in the eyes. His eyes, I noted, were different as well. They looked… bored. Dead. Without a meaning.

"Edward," I said, determined. "I know you're in there, the real you. Remember. Remember me, please!" I pressed his lips to mine before Andromeda or Stephen could do anything. Edward didn't kiss me back, and I knew it. But it still hurt.

I had to remind myself to put the pain aside. All I wanted was for him to remember me. Maybe this would break with a kiss?

But it didn't. Edward quickly shoved me away and pressed his palm on his lips, looking completely embarrassed. He looked at me with anger, but there was something more. He didn't quite look at me like he didn't know me. He looked at me as if he was trying to remember something.

"Who do you think you are, kissing my fiancée, you commoner?" Andromeda shouted, taking his hand again. I know she was afraid of Edward remembering me. So she had to act like that. She had to act like I was some crazy child— a crazy commoner— so Edward would get disgusted himself. But what Andromeda doesn't know was that my kiss made him remember something, deep in his heart. I just know it.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have the urge to cry. How could I not cry? My love just forgot about me.

But I decided not to cry. I had to be strong for Edward. I had to save him, and crying wasn't going to help me. It wasn't going to help _him_.

Andromeda stepped into the portal, taking Edward with her. Stephen stayed behind and smirked at me.

"It's actually funny what you're trying to do," he said.

I crossed my arms across my chest. "And what is that?"

"You're trying to make him rememebr you. But that won't work, I assure you. Andromeda's spell is far too strong, so stop this foolishness, girl. You lost. Andromeda won. That's how it was supposed to be."

"Well, they've always told me I was a sore loser." I said. "So I'll just keep fighting."

"You think you're so smart," he said. "But you forgot about something,"

"And what is that?"

"I could make you forget about Edward too,"

My eyes widened, and I actually felt afraid. "You… You wouldn't. You can't!"

"It's only a warning," he said, and opened a portal. "Do as I say and that won't happen."

-0-0-0-0-

"I hear there's a huge storm there, are you sure you'll be okay? Man, I wish I could've gone back home already. I hate leaving you alone for so long."

I sighed. "I'm fine, dad, don't worry. How's gramps?"

"Hanging in there," he sighed. There was a long pause. "But are _you_ okay, Bells? You sound off."

I held back a sigh. No, I wasn't _fine_. I felt sick to the stomach. But of course, I wasn't going to tell him that. "Yeah, yeah," I said, and cleared my throat. "I'm just tired."

"Well go get some rest, and stay safe."

"Always. I love you, dad,"

"I love you, too, Bells,"

He hung up after that.

"Oh my god," I said, pressing my cheek on the cold counter. Its coldness was reassuring on my hotted skin.

I knew I had to figure out a way to break the spell Andromeda cast on Edward. I just couldn't let them get away with that! … I couldn't let Edward live a lie. Live in misery. I couldn't let Edward live with _her_.

I hated the thought of someone else having him.

I had to find a way to go to Maldecido. ….But how?

"What is this?" I whispered, feeling how tears left my eyes like a waterfall. I straightened up and cleaned them from my face, but more fresh tears just poured out. And soon, I found myself crying. I couldn't control my sobbing. I was crying for a lot of things.

For one thing, I was crying for Alex. I cried for how helpless I found myself now because I coulnd't help him like I should. I was crying for Charlie, because he didn't know what was happening at all, and I was scared that he would come home all of a sudden and get caught in this mess. I was crying for myself. For my other friends. For all the people who were getting involve in this and didn't even know it yet.

But most of all, I was crying for Edward.

"God," I sobbed. I felt utterly helpless here. How could I save the one I love when he was in a magical world and in danger?

"There, there, don't cry. I'm here now." A voice whispered from afar.

I gasped, my heart immediately racing as I sat straight. I looked around the kitchen, and found no one. Slowly, I reached to the kitchen counter and picked up a knife.

"Put that down, please. You don't want to hurt yourself," the voice whispered. It was male voice; a very gentle, very soft male voice. It kinda soothed me, in a way. And that's when I knew that was how it snatched up his prey.

"Show yourself!" I yelled, holding the knife tighter.

And there he was, just like that. He walked very slowly, his palms in the air to show me that he meant no harm. His dirty blonde hair was long and lose, almost covering his red eyes.

"I mean no harm, little one," he said, and smiled. He looked at the knife in my hand. "Put that down,"

"No way," I said. "Who are you? And how did you enter my house?"

"Getting in was no problem, I assure you," he laughed. He put his hands down and smiled, showing perfectly white teeth. "My name is Sebastian, and I'm here for a purpose."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And what is that?"

"To take you back home, little one,"

And then, everything went black.


	24. RED

**Author's Note: You guys cannot imagine what twists my life took. Thank you all for being so patient with me, and I promise you now that from this update on, the story will be updated once a week or so. Thanks again, and I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**In Love with a Wolf**

**Chapter 24 – Red**

**Bella's Poin ot View**

My eyes felt incredibly heavy, so I didn't dare to open them. My head – which was resting against something hard— felt as if I had been hit against the wall a million times.

A flash of scenes flashed through my closed eyelids, some I questioned if they happened or if they were a dream. However, I immediately discared that thought, because some looked far too horrible and painful to have been real. I couldn't imagine myself being tortured like that by those strange men in black and red.

But by the way I felt, every one of those scenes of me screaming in agony could have been real.

"She's conscious," I heard a woman announce. Almost immediately, I felt my heart skip a bit and felt my body jump just slightly when I heard that unexpected voice.

"Finally, after three days of waiting," another voice said. This voice sounded familiar.

I heard heavy footsteps getting nearer and nearer, then, when they stopped, I felt a very cold finger on my heated skin. "You can awake from your slumber now, little one. You've slept enough."

When I didn't move, I heard a heavy sigh. "Please, I don't want to hurt you." There was a pause, and when he spoke again, his voice roared like an angry lion. His rage could have made the most ferocious lion tremble. " Wake up, I said!"

I regretted the moment I moved, I regretted even more the moment I opened my eyes.

My vision drove me crazy the moment I opened my eyes. Even the dim light hurt my eyes. It was as if my eyes were burning; only blurry figures were all I could see.

It felt as if I was suffering from a migrane, only ten times worse.

"That will pass soon," the man said, his voice much calmer now. "Trust me."

I tried to focuse my vision on him, but I couldn't. Everytime I moved my eyeball the pain got worse and worse. I wondered what the hell happened down here; I wondered what did they do to me.

"Sebastian," the first voice said. "We must prepare everything. The most awaited day is only two sunsets away."

The man, whom I assumed was Sebastian, laughed darkly.

"You must sleep once more, but it's only for a little while."

This time, I looked at him, and through the blurry colors and lines and swirls that was my vision, I could see the shape of a man, a very tall man. Then I saw him life his arm, and the next thing I knew, something hard hit me on the head, and everything went black.

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**Author's Note: **Really short chapter, I know. But this was so you guys could know that **I'm alive** and ... not really well, but I'm breathing. Expect the chapters coming faster now. I hope you all enjoyed this short chapter.

What do you think is going to **happen** to Bella now?

**Whoever reviews will get a teaser from the next chapter!**


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